Pumpkin Scones with Cinnamon Glaze

I warned you about my adoration of all things pumpkin flavored. I tend to be obsessive that way. The flavor, the smell of pumpkin – just about my favorite things in the world. In late August I start checking the Starbucks website to see when they will begin serving the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Any other time of year I can pass up Starbucks without a second thought, but come September, it’s like my internal GPS is locked onto it. I actually plan my travel time to appointments based on where the closest Starbucks is located.

These pumpkin scones are a great way to kick off the pumpkin season. If you’re a pumpkin fan you will fall in love with these. They’re so light but so flavorful. The pumpkin flavor is just perfect in them. And just wait until you smell them as they’re baking. Heavenly. I love them for a quick breakfast, but they’re even better as a little treat later in the day. I made a batch of these yesterday and took them to school for my kids’ teachers this morning to welcome Fall. I had to get them out of the house before I ate every last one. But I’m already thinking I might make them again this weekend.

You may not know it, but scones are super easy to make. It’s basically a one bowl operation, with a little bit of elbow grease required. The scones served in bakeries are usually cut into perfect little triangles, but I take the quickest route to the finish line by just shaping a large spoonful of dough into an appetizing shape. I made these into a bar, but you could do circles or even just mounds of dough if you don’t want to go through the effort to flatten out the dough and cut with a knife.

Pumpkin Scones

makes 12 scones

For Scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour

7 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

3 tablespoons milk

1 large egg

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (This is by far the preferred method – I highly recommend getting parchment paper if you don’t have any. Once you use it you’ll see why – nothing ever sticks, and there’s no oil transfer to your food.)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Use a fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until there are no obvious lumps. (This is where the elbow grease comes in.) Set bowl aside.

In a separate bowl whisk together the pumpkin, milk and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and form the dough into a ball. At this point you can place 1/4 cup fulls of the dough onto the baking sheet and form them into your preferred shape. Or, follow the tarditional scone method – Pat dough out onto a floured worksurface and form into a 1″ thick rectangle. Use a large knife to slice through it in an X pattern until you end up with 12 pieces.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until light brown. Place on a wire rack to cool.

To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and cinnamon. Let it sit about 5 minutes, then drizzle over top of cooled scones.

Adapted from: The Brown Eyed Baker