Taking Fall flavors and baking delicious treats to warm the heart, the mouth, and the air; the first in a series of tasty treats.
A few weeks back, I headed out of my way to the Starbucks in town on my way to work. Though I rarely visit the coffee chain, when the Fall menu comes out my need for seasonal warmth overwhelms me and I can only satisfy with a pumpkin scone and a seasonal drink of my choosing. The drink may change periodically but the constant, year after year, has always been the pumpkin scone. Much to my surprise, I get in the store, order my drink and ask to add a scone only to find out they are no longer making them. The cashier talked up the pumpkin cheesecake muffin, I agreed to give it a try, and they were all out. Thus my seasonal treat affair with Starbucks is over and I must get my scones another way.
In the past I have followed the copycat recipes for their scones (and they are pretty spot on) but what is the fun in following other recipes when I can adapt and create my own?! I will preface this with the disclaimer that these have room for improvement and I will be attempting them again soon with a few alterations. When I made them I had an abundance of time but not all the necessary spices I would have liked. My boyfriend was recovering from surgery and after cleaning the kitchen and many other rooms to feel useful, I took the opportunity to bake the stress away, ultimately forcing myself to once again clean the kitchen. I will forever believe there is no emotion that doesn't call for baking.
Gathering the ingredients:
Due to my impulsivity, I often start a recipe without confirming that I have absolutely every item that I will need. Additionally, when I am at my boyfriend's house I regularly forget that what may be staples in my pantry certainly aren't in his. No cloves, no pumpkin pie spice, surely that shouldn't be a problem when making pumpkin scones. Though I could have gone down the road to the store, I was feeling inspired and lazy at the same time so I would make do with what was already here. The only ingredients I had the forethought to purchase were pumpkin puree, heavy cream, and butter.
Additional ingredients of use:
flour
brown sugar (white sugar can be used but I wanted the molasses richness)
salt (though I wouldn't use the kosher coarse salt we had on hand)
cinnamon
nutmeg
cardamom ( I previously made Swedish cardamom rolls at his house, he didn't love them)
vanilla
baking powder
powdered sugar
maple syrup (the real stuff!! Luckily I had some nearly crystalized in the fridge that was just enough)
the aforementioned ingredients:
pumpkin puree
heavy cream
butter (always unsalted)
The process:
Combine the flour, brown sugar, spices, salt, and baking powder together with a whisk or fork.
Take the cold butter and cut into cubes. Spread the cubes throughout the dry ingredient mixture.
If you have a pastry cutter, this is a good opportunity to use it. I prefer to use my hands and break the butter up between my fingers, continuing to work the dry ingredients throughout until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Add your wet ingredients (pumpkin puree, heavy cream, and vanilla) and use either a fork or your hand to combine together. (I take the mixture until I can see even distribution but with pops of butter here and there.)
Group your scone dough into a disk or rough rectangle.
Time to make your scones! There are so many different processes to potentially make scones; Some people make drop scones, some leave the rough disk and simply score where they will break apart, some use a cookie cutter. Here, I used what I had at the house which happened to be a ravioli press. (Make use of your tools for many different purposes, it'll make it seem like their value goes up...as they say, girl math.)
When making scones, I don't use a rolling pin to spread my dough, I simply pat and press in an outward motion until I have about a half inch in thickness and enough room to cut out several pieces. I then take the borders and ball them up, pressing out, and repeating the process until I can't anymore. At this point, place the scones on a parchment lined baking sheet and place them in your preheated (375 degree F) oven for 20-30 minutes. I believe I did 25 and should have gone just a few minutes more.
Currently, I want to get the exact recipe down before sharing my ways with you. However a rough estimate would be:
around 2 cups of flour
roughly 1.5 tsp of spices of your choosing
.5 cup of brown sugar
.25 tsp salt
2 TBSP baking powder
.5 cup pumpkin puree
.25 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla
.5 cup butter
icing:
.5 cup powdered sugar
1 TBSP heavy cream
2 tsp maple syrup
.5 tsp spices
Enjoy my journey through Fall foods in the coming weeks! Happy October!!
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