Whole Wheat Pumpkin Scones

Going through our kitchen cabinets, I found a can of pumpkin puree. As I am always trying to use things we already have on hand, I thought this would be a great opportunity to make pumpkin bread! Alas, I also discovered we hardly had any flour, which surely must signify end of days. There was a bag of whole wheat flour though and as I traipsed along the internet, I found this recipe for whole wheat pumpkin scones from adashofsass.com that was perfect to utilize a number of ingredients filling our kitchen shelves. As you can see above, I prepped most of my ingredients beforehand--baking powder, vanilla, the wheat flour and a blend of four spices in one ramekin, as they were all going in the mix together at the same time.

Cubed butter is seen here. Note to self: buy more butter!


Get a solid pastry blender to work the butter into the flour and spices, until it is granular, like sand.

Mixing the dry ingredients that I had prepped, along with the wet ingredients such an egg, the puree and vanilla extract. I also incorporated some chocolate chips that were lurking about in the refrigerator and formed all into a 7'x7' shape, about an inch thick. This was then cut into pieces, glazed with an egg and topped with turbinado sugar.

Et voila, scones hot out of the oven!


Whole Wheat Pumpkin Scones
From adashofsass.com
Ingredients
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup fine baker’s sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed or grated, then placed back in refrigerator until needed
3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Raw sugar or sparkling sugar (optional)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or raisins or dried apricots (optional)

Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a cast iron scone pan or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the pumpkin, cream, vanilla and one egg until combined. Place bowl in the refrigerator while preparing the dry ingredients.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
- Using a pastry blender, two forks or your fingers, quickly work the cold butter cubes into the dry ingredients. Work until the mixture resembles a crumbly, sandy mixture.
- Add the cold wet ingredients to the crumbly mixture using a rubber spatula. Only stir until combined.
- Carefully add 1/2 cup of the chopped pecans and any additional add-ins (chocolate chips, raisins, apricots). Reserve the remaining 1/4 cup chopped pecans to sprinkle on the top of the scones. Knead the dough briefly, if needed.
- Pour the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a 7 inch square that is approximately 1 inch thick. Using a large knife, carefully cut the square into quarters. Then cut each quarter into four even pieces. Place on lined baking sheet or prepared cast iron pan.
- In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg with a fork. Using a pastry brush, brush each scone lightly with the egg. Sprinkle with raw or sparkling sugar and the remaining pecans.
- Bake for 16-17 minutes. Be careful not to overbake or the scones will dry out. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or store in an airtight container for up to a week.