Pumpkin Scones
There is a local bakery dad and I like to visit at 6am on weekend mornings for an espresso and fresh baking straight from the oven. But life has changed, and with the Covid-19 sweeping the world, this special little routine of ours has been disrupted. The bad news is that we can no longer go into the bakery to enjoy espresso and baking while hanging out with the staff and watching them measure, mix, blend and then bake the days treats. However, when one door closes, another one opens. In this case I went on the hunt to find a recipe I could create at home, providing us with fresh baked scones to enjoy with our espresso. And these little pumpkin raisin scones hit the mark!
Pumpkin Scones
Special Note: These need to be refrigerated (or frozen) to firm them up before baking. Also, when making these you’ll want to work with hard refrigerated (or frozen) butter.
Ingredients:
2 1/4c all-purpose flour
1/2c old-fashioned oats
1/2c sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2c cold butter
3/4c raisins (optional)
3/4c pure pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
Instructions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Using a box grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture and toss to coat with the dry ingredients. Using a fork, press and cut the butter until coarse crumbs form and some peanut-size pieces remain. Toss in raisins until evenly coated.
In a medium bowl, whisk the pumpkin and eggs until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until no dry bits remain and mixture forms a mass.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with flour. Divide the dough mass into two even pieces in the bowl and dump each piece onto the prepared sheet. Dampen your hands and press each piece into a 3/4 inch thick rounds (about 6 inches in diameter).
Refrigerate or freeze until stiff..
Heat oven to 425 degrees F. When the oven is ready, take out the dough and cut each round into 6 even wedges using a sharp knife. Nudge the wedges about 1 inch apart.
Bake until golden brown and firm to touch, about 15 minutes.
Cool on pan for about 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
If using frozen dough from dough rounds, move to fridge the night before baking. If wanting to take directly from freezer and bake, then freeze in the separate individual pieces and increase baking time by about 5 minutes.
