Pumpkin Spice Scones with Maple Glaze

Does anyone else periodically clean their refrigerator out only to find half empty containers of ingredients they forgot to use? It happens to me all the time and I've resolved to turn over a new leaf and use leftover ingredients before they spoil. Recently I made muffins using canned pumpkin so I had to find a use for the rest of the pumpkin that was sitting in the fridge. I scoured the internet and found these pumpkin spice scones on a blog called Pinch My Salt.

I had enough pumpkin left to make two batches of the scones and since the recipe called for both all-purpose flour and cake flour, I decided to experiment a bit. I made one batch with all-purpose and cake flour and the other batch with all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flour. I'm happy to report that there was no noticeable difference in flavor between the two batches. This is the second time I've used whole wheat pastry flour with good results so I'm definitely a convert.

I knew I wanted to glaze the scones and eventually decided on a recipe for maple glaze that I found on Ezra Pound Cake. This glaze is to die for and really added something special to the scones. The scones themselves are delicious! The pumpkin flavor comes through as well as the warmth of the spices and the texture is perfect! I'm not normally a huge fan of scones but these are phenomenal. I shared one with my mailman today and he agreed :)


Pumpkin Spice Scones
from Pinch My Salt

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons very cold, unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices and whisk together.
In another medium bowl, whisk pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add the pieces of cold butter to the flour mixture and cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins if you are using them.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. Knead the dough a few times until everything comes together. Be careful not to over-knead the dough. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and set them on the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake scones for 15 minutes. Cool scones on baking sheet on wire rack for 5 minutes before transferring them to the wire rack to cool completely.

Maple Glaze
from Baking Illustrated by the editors of Cooks Illustrated (as seen on Ezra Pound Cake)

3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

When the scones have cooled completely, whisk the maple syrup and confectioner?s sugar in a small bowl until combined; drizzle the glaze over the scones.