Welcome to Pumpkin Week! While Pumpkins are perfectly in season in Autumn- it is impossible to ignore the fact it is Halloween this week! As part of our Food Waste journey the last few months- we now know nearly 18,000 TONS of pumpkin are wasted at Halloween.
We are not party poopers- telling you not to have a bit of fun with a festive carved pumpkin! In an ode to making small steps in our own homes to keep reducing the amount of food that is wasted globally…we are instead…offering you some YUMMY pumpkin recipes you can make with the insides of your pumpkins. Fun and Food! Win – Win!
These festive scones are perfect for morning tea or after school and can be made with gluten free flour. Any type of pumpkin can be used.
Ingredients
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, frozen1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons (105ml)
heavy cream, divided
1 large egg
1/2 cup (115g) fresh pumpkin puree (steam, microwave or roast pumpkin til soft and mash)
1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
optional: coarse sugar for sprinkling on top before baking
Maple Glaze
2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup (80ml) pure maple syrup
1 cup (112g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
pinch salt, to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Adjust baking rack to the middle-low position. Line 1 or 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat(s). If making mini scones, I use 2 baking sheets. Set aside.
Make the scones: Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter. Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and combine with a fork, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. Set aside.
Whisk 1/3 cup (75ml) heavy cream, the egg, blotted pumpkin (see note), brown sugar, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and then mix it all together until everything appears moistened.
With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can and transfer onto a floured work surface. Press into a neat 8-inch disc and, with a very sharp knife, cut into 8 equal wedges. To make smaller scones, press dough into two 5-inch discs and cut each into 8 equal wedges. (Larger scones are pictured in this blog post.)
Place scones at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s). Brush scones with remaining heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired. (Gives a nice crunch!)
Bake the larger scones for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. If you made 16 smaller scones, bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes as you prepare the icing.
Make the glaze:
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and maple syrup together, whisking occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners’ sugar. Taste and add a pinch of salt if desired.
Drizzle over warm scones.
Scones are best enjoyed right away, though leftover scones keep well at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2 extra days.
Enjoy!
Useful notes:
*Use frozen butter. Like pie crust, it’s best to use cold butter in scone dough. You’ll work the cold butter into the dry ingredients so that it coats the flour and creates crumbs. When the little butter/flour crumbs melt as the scones bake, they release steam and create little pockets of air. These pockets create a flaky and airy center, while keeping the edges crumbly and crisp. Refrigerated butter might melt in the dough as you work with it, but frozen butter will hold out until the oven. It guarantees scone success.
*Grate the butter. Weird, right? The finer the pieces of cold butter, the easier they are to evenly mix into the dry ingredients. You can, of course, just cut the frozen butter with a sharp knife, but I like to begin with teeny butter shreds instead.
*Make Ahead Instructions: Plain baked scones freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then heat up to your liking before icing and enjoying.
*Pumpkin Pie Spice: Instead of prepared pumpkin pie spice, you can use 1/2 teaspoon each: ground allspice and ground ginger AND 1/4 teaspoon each: ground nutmeg and ground cloves.
Recipe Inspiration: Sally’s Baking Addiction
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