pumpkin scones

Oh, did you want to see something besides scones? I’m sorry, it turns out that the ol’ crumblycookie has become all scones, all the time.

No, just kidding. This is the last scone recipe. I just wanted to get through them in one fell swoop, which is what’s kind of fun about NaBloPoMo.

Like most of us, I love pumpkin. The thing is though, that you can’t just add pumpkin into whatever your favorite baking recipe is, because it changes the texture quite a bit. It adds a moist, cakey…I want to say gummy texture, but that sounds negative, and it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it also isn’t what you want in scones.

So even though I have two great basic scone recipes, I didn’t even consider just adding pumpkin into one of them and seeing what happens. (Although now I’m curious.) So I had to start my search for recipes from scratch, and I settled on this Joy of Baking recipe because the picture shows tall scones with flaky layers.

And I nailed it! I can’t imagine a better pumpkin scone. This has everything I want in a scone – the texture walks the line between tender and flaky, it’s sweet but not too much, and the pumpkin and spices are noticeable but not overwhelming. Yet another perfect scone recipe.

One year ago: Gratin Dauphinois

Printer Friendly Recipe
Pumpkin Scones (adapted just a bit from Joy of Baking)

Makes 8 scones

I left out the nuts and raisins, just because I wanted a smooth texture this time. And instead of using the egg wash and turbinado sugar for sprinkling, I brushed the scones with milk and sprinkled them with a mixture of about 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. It gave the scones a really nice thin crisp layer after baking.

I’ve also tweaked the order in which the ingredients are added to the dough, because I’m full of myself and I think I know better than the professionals. Or something.

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
⅓ cup (50 grams) raisins
¼ cup (30 grams) toasted and chopped pecans (optional)
⅓ – ½ cup buttermilk
⅓ cup (72 grams) light or dark brown sugar
½ cup fresh or canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Egg Wash:
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk or cream
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling the tops of the scones (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins and pecans, if using. In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, sugar, pumpkin puree and vanilla, and then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix the dough.

3. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 1½ inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 4 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle a little Turbinado sugar on top, if desired.

4. Place the baking sheet inside another baking sheet to prevent the bottoms of the scones from over browning. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.