Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkin Scones.

I have two very large pumpkins sitting on the counter in my kitchen – a welcome product from my garden.  A third pumpkin resides in my freezer in various forms:  puree, cubes, and pumpkin scones.  The two remaining are both musquée de provence, grown from seeds I saved when I bought a large chunk of pumpkin last fall.  The flavor and texture of this pumpkin are both fantastic.

Musquée de provence casting shadows and Pumpkin Scones waiting to be baked

I can’t help it – I have pumpkin recipes on my mind.  Maybe I should blame it on the fact that every English-language food magazine I pass by from Fine Cooking to Martha Stewart Living has recipes including pumpkin.  And nearly every food blog I read is sharing tips about how to add a little of that luscious orange puree into your favorite muffins, buttermilk biscuits, bread pudding, cheesecake, soup and ah yes, pie. 

Pumpkin Scone & Coffee.  That’s a big cup of coffee.  It appears that I may need to eat two scones…

I started here, with pumpkin scones.  Because you can’t get them here in Finland, yet, unless you make your own.  Because Fall should include a cup of good coffee and a fresh pumpkin scone. 

The good news is:  I have two large pumpkins to go.  Plenty of raw material to work with, here!
For those of you who love pumpkin as much as I do, you are 30 minutes away from another happy moment.  Have them for breakfast, then coffee, then evening snack.  Share them, or stash them.  Freeze them raw, or baked, or consume immediately and make another batch tomorrow. 

And if you have apple butter or apple jelly or even sweetened apple sauce, you can’t go wrong adding a dollop to the top of these scones.  Enjoy!

Check that out.  Mmmmm, yes.  Now go make some for yourself!

Pumpkin Scones

Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together:
2 1/2 cups or 360g flour
1/4 c or 60 g sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Using a pastry blender or a fork, blend in until the mixture forms coarse crumbs:
7 tablespoons or 100g cold butter, cut into pieces

In a small bowl combine:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup or 1 dl pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.  

Using your hands, divide the dough into two parts and knead each ball lightly so it come together and forms a ball.  Be careful not to over mix – the less you handle the dough, the better the texture of the scones.  Place each dough half onto the pan and flatten it into a disk about 1 inch/2.5 cm thick.  Cut each disk in half and then in half again to form four triangles.  Separate the scone triangles so they are not touching and they have space to grow in the oven. 

Bake the scones for 15-17 minutes until the are golden brown and fragrant.  Serve with your choice of coffee or tea.

Makes 8 scones.