Baking Sunday: Pumpkin Spiced Scones

Yesterday was a rainy, cold Sunday in Wilmore. Baking was the perfect remedy -- the best indoor activity. As my friend, Anna Chua, says: "Baking is always more enjoyable on Sundays." I think I agree. With Thanksgiving ahead, the season of pumpkin everything is slowly drawing to a close. So, Jenny and I decided to make pumpkin spiced scones and take advantage of the season.

Let me start by saying that these scones are incredibly fantastic. Really. I'm not a pumpkin pie person (unless it has a lot of whipped cream), but I enjoy other, subtle, pumpkin-y things. These hit the spot. And I love how versatile they are. You can eat them for breakfast, a snack or dessert; or have them with some tea or milk. They're just that good. I'm thinking of making them again the week of Thanksgiving since we have friends visiting. And I might even make them after that for a baby shower. So, enjoy this recipe just in time for Thanksgiving gatherings.

This recipe is courtesy of Joanne and Adam Gallagher from inspiredtaste.net. We changed a few things within the recipe, which I've noted below. Enjoy!

What you'll need for the scones:

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/2 cup of cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces (1 stick)
1/2 cup pure pumpkin
1 tablespoon of unsulphured molasses (you can go without, if need be or try substituting with a little more brown sugar or honey) 
1 egg
3 tablespoons of half and half
2 teaspoons of vanilla

For sugar glaze: 
1 cup of powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons of half and half (we used around 2 tablespoons)

For pumpkin spice glaze: (I cut this recipe in half from the original, you just don't need it all, double it if you think you'll want more.)
1/2 cup of powdered sugar 
1/2 tablespoon of pure pumpkin
Dash of cloves
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of ginger
1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of half and half
*Technically, you only need about 1/16 of a teaspoon of cloves, nutmeg and ginger. I just sprinkled some of each across the top.

To Bake: 
Heat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all the spices together. Then, add the cold, cut butter to the mixture. Use a pastry blender or two knives to cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal or crumbs.

In a separate medium bowl whisk together the pumpkin, molasses, half and half, vanilla and egg. Whisk until blended well.

After that, stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour/butter mixture and stir with a spoon until a soft dough forms.

After that, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it until it comes together. Pat the dough out into a 10x7 inch rectangle. Then, you can either make 8 regular sized scones or 12 smaller scones. We made 8 regular sized scones. To do that, cut the dough in half both lengthwise and width-wise to make four smaller rectangles. Then, cut the rectangles into triangles (making 8 scones).

To make 12 smaller scones, cut the dough in half lengthwise. Then, cut the the dough twice width-wise, so you have six small rectangles. Then, cut those rectangles into two triangles. Voila.

Make sure your baking sheet is sprayed, transfer the scones over and bake for 10-15 minutes. Ours were done in 10 minutes. You can insert a toothpick in the middle of one of the scones to make sure they are finished. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool.

While the scones cool, make one or both glazes (We made both!).

For the Sugar Glaze:

Add powdered sugar to medium bowl and add one tablespoon of half and half. Judge the consistency. If it's too thick, add more half and half (we used around 2 tablespoons). The glaze should be set when it slowly drizzles off the spoon.

When the glaze is finished, ice the top of each scone (using a spoon, or the like). Then, let the glaze set while you make the pumpkin glaze.

For the Pumpkin Spice Glaze:

Combine powdered sugar, pumpkin and spices. Then, add in the half and half. Stir and judge the consistency. The glaze should be set when it slowly drizzles off the spoon.

When the glaze is finished, use a spoon to drizzle the pumpkin glaze over the scone in a zig-zag pattern.

Last of all, let the scones cool and set for a few minutes and enjoy! They are delicious warm.