Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors.  I consider it a flavor because I'm not much of a fan of it as a food by itself, but used in baked goods it is so very yummy... pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies and pumpkin scones.  Although it's a Fall food, you don't have to wait until the leaves start to turn to pick up a can of pumpkin puree and make these Harvest Pumpkin Scones from King Arthur Flour.

After measuring out the dry ingredients, I cut in the cold butter.  You could also use a sturdy fork or two knives to do this if you don't have a pastry blender.

After the butter is all cut in, it looks like this:

The recipe suggests adding in crystallized ginger or cinnamon chips, both of which sound really tasty, but all I had on hand was plain ol' chocolate chips, so I used those.  In a separate bowl, I combined the pumpkin and the egg before adding it to the dry ingredients.

After mixing it up with a big spoon, it looks like this:

Then, divide the dough in half and make two circles on parchment paper.  The recipe says to flour the parchment.  I didn't do this, but I should have.  It would have made things a little bit easier.

Brush each circle with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar or both.  I did one with cinnamon and sugar and one with just sugar.  Next, cut each circle into 6 wedges.  I don't have a bench knife, so I just used a big butcher knife to do this.  Pull each wedge away from the center a little bit so that that they are not touching (this is when it would have been helpful to have flour on the parchment).

Then you pop the scones in the freezer for about 30 minutes.  I'm not sure what this does.  I should have experimented and left one pan out of the freezer, but I followed the recipe on this one.  While the scones are chilling get the oven heating up to 425. And then bake them for about 25 minutes. 

The result is a crispy, sugary crust and a soft, tender center.  Perfect with a cup of coffee or a big glass of milk.