I love fall... the colors, the pumpkins, the dropping temperatures...It all makes me smile! :) Here in Russia, the feeling of fall starts in late August. Officially though, it began September 1st. I have embraced the new season sooner than I would in the states. My reasoning is that I want to enjoy it before it's freezing outside and doesn't feel like fall anymore, but honestly, why wait? This season brings out the best in my love of baking! Bring on the pumpkins! As far as cooking those pumpkins, ours are a bit different here, but I've had good success so far. You might have already guessed we can't run down to our local grocery store and pick up a can of pumpkin, but it's really OK. Cooking them is not difficult. The consistency of our pumpkins takes some getting used to, but with a little cinnamon and nutmeg it turns out well every time. In my searching for new pumpkin recipes to try I came across an incredible pumpkin scone recipe that, at the urging of my mom, I decided to post on my blog. I hope you try it and enjoy it!
For the Pumpkin Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (1 stick of butter)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon molasses (we don't have molasses so I used syrup)
3 tablespoons half and half
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
For the Frosting:
Heat your oven to 400*F or 200*C (if you have a metric oven like me). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can spray or grease your pan if you would like, but the parchment paper is SO nice!
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all the spices together (cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg). Then, cut the cold butter into small cubes (it is very important that the butter is cold for this). Add butter to flour mixture then use a fork or a pastry cutter to “cut” the butter into the flour mixture – yes it does require some elbow grease, as my mom would say. By the end, the mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
Now, in another medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, molasses, half and half, vanilla extract and egg until blended. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour and butter mixture with a spoon just until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to a floured surface then knead it three to four times until it comes together. It can be a bit sticky.
Next, pat or roll dough into about a 10" x 7" rectangle. If you have a pizza cutter, it is the tool of choice for cutting the scones. It is easier to cut your rectangle lengthwise first. Then cut it into 3 sections giving you 6 small rectangles. Then proceed to make your triangles. If that makes absolutely no sense, hopefully the picture will help! :)
Transfer the scones to your cooking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. If you aren't sure, just grab a toothpick and poke it into one your scones. If it's clean, you should be good to go! Make sure the scones cool completely before frosting if you don't want your frosting to melt and run. I usually can't wait to dig into the goodness...hot scones with melting, dripping frosting...I'm smiling right now just thinking about it!
Speaking of frosting, you'll want your beaters for this. It's a pretty basic put the ingredients in a bowl and blend situation. I will add though that I don't like to put all my powdered sugar in at once because I tend to be covered in it by the time I'm done. If you want to get fancy with your frosting, you might consider a zigzag pattern. :)
Happy fall, ya'll!
For the Pumpkin Scones:
For the Frosting:
- 1/4 Cup butter
- 1 (3 oz) pkg of cream cheese
- 2 Cups powered sugar
- 1/2 t vanilla
- 1/8 t salt
Heat your oven to 400*F or 200*C (if you have a metric oven like me). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can spray or grease your pan if you would like, but the parchment paper is SO nice!
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all the spices together (cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg). Then, cut the cold butter into small cubes (it is very important that the butter is cold for this). Add butter to flour mixture then use a fork or a pastry cutter to “cut” the butter into the flour mixture – yes it does require some elbow grease, as my mom would say. By the end, the mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
Now, in another medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, molasses, half and half, vanilla extract and egg until blended. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour and butter mixture with a spoon just until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to a floured surface then knead it three to four times until it comes together. It can be a bit sticky.
Next, pat or roll dough into about a 10" x 7" rectangle. If you have a pizza cutter, it is the tool of choice for cutting the scones. It is easier to cut your rectangle lengthwise first. Then cut it into 3 sections giving you 6 small rectangles. Then proceed to make your triangles. If that makes absolutely no sense, hopefully the picture will help! :)
Transfer the scones to your cooking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. If you aren't sure, just grab a toothpick and poke it into one your scones. If it's clean, you should be good to go! Make sure the scones cool completely before frosting if you don't want your frosting to melt and run. I usually can't wait to dig into the goodness...hot scones with melting, dripping frosting...I'm smiling right now just thinking about it!
Speaking of frosting, you'll want your beaters for this. It's a pretty basic put the ingredients in a bowl and blend situation. I will add though that I don't like to put all my powdered sugar in at once because I tend to be covered in it by the time I'm done. If you want to get fancy with your frosting, you might consider a zigzag pattern. :)
Happy fall, ya'll!
