Sara Ftiz's Yummy Pumpkin Scone Recipe

I love scones and I also love pumpkin bread and that inspired me to come up with a pumpkin scone recipe. These pumpkin scones turned out so well I made a batch and took them into work with me. My co-workers goobled them up and raved about them. Scones are so nice to eat for breakfast or for a snack with tea or coffee. These pumpkin scones are great because they are extra nutritious with the addition of whole wheat flour and of course the pumpkin is nutritious itself. It would be perfect to include this pumpkin scone with a holiday brunch menu. These pumpkin scones are nice as they are not overwhelmingly sweet at all. This recipe calls for caramelized nuts and they do add quite a bit of flavor, but these scones can be made without the nuts. Some other variations to this recipe are mentioned below.

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp brandy or water

3/4 cup walnuts (chopped)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup butter (chilled)

1 15oz can pumpkin

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract (best to use real vanilla extract)

Lightly oil a baking sheet. In a small saucepan, mix together the brandy and sugar and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to med to med high and bring to a boil. Cook 4 minutes or until mixture turns amber color but be careful not to burn it. Stir in the nuts immediately and then don't waste any time turning the mixture out onto the oiled cookie sheet. Let cool until hardened and then chop into pieces.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (350 for a convection oven) and also lightly butter a cookie sheet or I like to use a Pampered Chef pizza stone.

In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (flour through salt) and then cut the butter into pieces. Place the butter in with the dry ingredients and using a pastry blender (or two knives) cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, stir together the pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla. Add this to the flour mixture and stir together (works best to use hands for this). Add the caramelized nuts and mix together. The dough will be sticky.

You can add other goodies like, chocolate chips, raisins, pumpkin seeds, dates, or butterscotch chips if you like.

Spread the dough on the pizza stone or cookie sheet and pat it into a 9 or 10 inch circle. Leave the center of the circle a little higher than the outer edges of the circle to get that typical scone look after cutting. Now, with a knife cut the dough into 8 wedges. Lightly sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar on top of the scones.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (25 to 30 minutes for convection oven) or until lightly browned and when a toothpick is inserted into one of the scones, it comes out clean.

After scones come out of the oven, recut the scones into the wedges. Serve warm with some butter placed in the middle of the scones if desired. If you prefer a little sweeter scone, you can mix some maple syrup with the butter.

Enjoy!!

Scone Making Tips: How to Make a Perfect Scone

by Sara Fitz

Scones can vary widely in size, shape, texture, and flavor. Scones should neither be too moist or too dry. Some scone recipes produce a more cake-like scone and some may produce a more biscuit-like scone. The best scones are just the ones that you and your friends love to eat. Read on to find some helpful tips on making the best scones ever.

First, read each recipe through before starting. As with any recipe, make sure to use the appropriate measuring cups and spoons. Use dry measuring cups for dry ingredients and liquid measuring cups for liquid ingredients. When measuring dry ingredients, always use a straight edge to level off your ingredients. When measuring liquids, always check the measurement at eye level. Appropriate measurements are essential for your perfect scone.

The dry ingredients are mixed together first in a bowl. The butter should be slightly chilled then “cut” into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender. Two knifes can also be used in a scissor-like fashion to cut in the butter. This procedure is done to product a nice flaky scone. Next, the liquid ingredients are mixed together in a separate bowl and then dumped into the dry ingredients all at once. This mixture is stirred together “just until combined.” It is important not to over mix your batter at this point. Some recipes may call for a little kneading to develop the gluten but over kneading will land you a tough scone. The reason most scone recipes call for a rather-large-amount of butter is help inhibit the formation of too much gluten and therefore produce a more tender and flaky scone. Also the use of sugar in the recipe will help with this as well.

Baking soda may be used in scone recipes to help balance the acid-alkali balance when acid ingredients like buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream are used.

Always use double-acting baking powder when it is called for in the recipe and make sure that it is fresh. Baking powder looses its potency if it is used past its expiration date or if moisture has been allowed inside the container. If your baking powder has been in the cupboard for awhile, it’s a good idea to splurge a new one to get the best results from your recipe.

Always bake scones in a preheated oven and bake them for the full amount of time called for. Testing the scones with a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the scones will help determine if it is done. When the toothpick comes out clean it is done.

When making wedge shaped scones, it is best not to cut them apart until you are ready to serve them. Cut edges will dry out quickly.

Scone can be rolled out, shaped, or dropped. Which method you can use here may depend on how much liquid is used in your recipe. Real sticky doughs may need to be dropped or shaped. This is where you can get real creative with your scones and come up with fun ideas for shapes for different occasions.

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