Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Pumpkin Icing

While not one to really jump on the whole pumpkin-spice-everything autumn bandwagon, I do like pumpkin AND I like it spiced up with nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. These scones smell delicious when they're cooking, and taste even better. They're also a great way to use up the innards of a jack-o-lantern!

The icing can be a bit sweet, so if you don't have a sweet tooth, you may want to choose one or the other, or simply spread with a bit of cream cheese or butter. Having said that, the glaze with the stripes look really great, and I almost wish I had made them look like a spider's web for Halloween! As with all scones, these are best eaten the day they are made. If you don't eat them right away, you may want to freeze them before they are iced.

Spiced Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (unbleached)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut in chunks (if you don't have unsalted, reduce the salt added)
1/2 cup canned or cooked pumpkin (Not pie filling), cold
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp cold water

How to:

• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, mix together the dry ingredients (flour to brown sugar.) Cut in the cold butter until it is in small pieces. You can also do this step in the food processor and then dump into a mixing bowl to finish.
• In a medium sized bowl or large measuring cup, mix together the pumpkin, yogurt, egg, vanilla, syrup and water. Stir into the dry mixture until just combined. 
• Dust the counter with a little flour and scrape the dough from the bowl onto the counter. It should be soft, but not too sticky to handle (add a bit of flour if needed, but don't overwork the dough.) Shape the dough into an 8 inch circle. Using a large knife, pizza wheel or bench scraper, divide the dough into eight pieces.
• If you have a baking stone or cast iron pan large enough, use it, (cold, not pre-heated). Otherwise, place the scones onto a cookie sheet, giving them enough space to rise a bit when cooking.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden (check bottoms) and cooked through.
• Cool slightly before glazing.

Glaze
Mix together and spread over cooled scones, adjusting liquid as needed for consistency. Glaze should be soft but not runny:
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 Tbsp cream

Wait until completely cool before adding the pumpkin icing stripes.

​Pumpkin Icing
Using the same bowl that you used to make the glaze, mix together:

1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp canned or cooked pumpkin
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp cream

Adjust consistency so that it is thick, but still pipe-able by adding more sugar or more cream if needed. Transfer to a piping bag with a small round tip attached, or into a small ziplock bag and snip a little hole in the corner. Drizzle over the top of the scones.