Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkin is incredible.  Seriously.  Not only is it a nutrition powerhouse (full of fibre and Vitamin A), it is ridiculously versatile.  Is there anything this vegetable can’t do?  Soups, donuts, pie, risotto, muffins, ice cream (coming up next, I have a lot of pumpkin puree to work through folks)…and scones of course.

I love baking scones, in part because they are so easy to make.  These took me under 15 minutes to whip up and had me looking like a hero to my husband when he came home from work.  And the house smelled DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg at room temperature
• ¼- 1/3 c. milk
• ¾ c. unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 c. flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• ½ c. brown sugar
• 1 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1/3 c. cold butter, cubed
• 3 Tbsp. cream
• 2 Tbsp. roasted pumpkin seed kernels

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Crack the egg into a 1 c. glass measure, mix well with a fork. Add the milk to the ½ cup mark and mix well again. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and the vanilla and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, brown sugar, spice and salt together.
4. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, blend in the cold butter until it is the size of peas.
5. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix together with a fork until just combined. Avoid over-mixing it as they will get tough.
6. On a floured surface, pat the dough together in a 2” high circle and using a sharp knife, cut the scones into 8 wedges.

7. Transfer these on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a pastry brush, brush the tops with the cream and sprinkle the pumpkin seed kernels on top of each scone.

8. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until they are lightly browned.