I never thought fall would actually get here. I guess technically it isn’t here quite yet, but I am a little anxious considering the type of summer we have been having. Maybe I wouldn’t be so angry with summer had I not been working out in the extreme heat most days and experiencing the absence of rain coupled with worsening drought conditions. I have been wishing for September since June, hoping that it would bring some sort of relief. Well I think my wishful thinking wasn’t in vain because we are supposed to get a “cool front” here which means at least the highs won’t be in the triple digits. In celebtration of fall’s arrival, slightly lower temperatures, and the fact that I might have a love affair with anything pumpkin, I decided to bake up some pumpkin scones.
These scones are not too sweet with a subtle hint of pumpkin and spice. If for some reason you can’t enjoy them within a few days, you can freeze them after baking and create a little stash of pumpkin goodness in your freezer. If you want to make these a little more indulgent, you could make a glaze from powdered sugar, milk, and some cinnamon and drizzle that over the top once they have cooled.
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Scones
makes 6 large, or 12 small scones
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp. organic whole wheat pastry flour, plus more for kneading
1/2 cup oat flour*
1/4 cup organic raw sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. fine grain sea salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 stick of cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup milk of your choice (I used coconut milk, but almond milk would be lovely also)
1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 to 3 tbsp. raw pepitas (opt.)
Coarse raw sugar for sprinkling (opt.)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices until combined. Put the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer along with the cold, diced butter and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. You can also do this by hand with either your fingers or a pastry cutter.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, milk, and vanilla until combined. With the mixer running on a low speed, drizzle in the wet ingredients until the dough just comes together. (If you are doing this by hand, drizzle the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix lightly with a fork until the dough comes together).
Turn the dough out onto a work surface dusted liberally with flour and knead it a few times to make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated. Pat the dough into a 1 inch thick circle and cut in into 6 wedges for large scones, or 12 wedges for smaller scones. Put the scones onto a lined baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart (they will spread a tad) and sprinkle with the coarse sugar and pepitas. Bake for 20-22 minutes until golden brown and baked through. Enjoy!
*You can make your own oat flour by putting whole rolled oats into your food processor or high-powered blender and processing until it is the consistency of flour.
