pumpkin scones with cinnamon butter
For some reason, I've always shied away from the pumpkin craze. I might have had a pumpkin latte once. The idea of pumpkin cheesecake isn't appealing to me. Muffins, cookies, etc. Just not my jam. Tomato jam is however actually my jam. Same for bacon jam.
But I saw this Bon Appetit recipe on either Twitter or Instagram last weekend and felt very compelled to give it a shot. I think I printed it out from my bed on Friday night just so I wouldn't forget. So compelled it fact that I overcame the challenges of finding the canned pumpkin in the grocery store. Seasonal ingredients should be on end caps. Cans of pumpkin? Bottom shelf of the baking row. I don't get it.
A few notes:
- CRANBERRIES // The original recipe called for some cranberries which probably would have been just delightful... but I couldn't really rationalize a multi-dollar bet on an ingredient. But, I do think it would have been a nice touch. If you make this, know that cranberries aren't required but they would be nice. Get dried ones and chop them up a bit so they are kinda small.
- BUTTERMILK // I was out of my favorite buttermilk powder substitute - so I really just used almond milk. Not even regular milk. By no means do I think you can get away with any liquid here - but don't stress out and don't buy buttermilk just for the 1/4 cup this recipe calls for. That's dumb.
- PROCESS // I broke with pattern a bit here and didn't go through the multi-step scone prep I started a few years back. I altered the original recipe a bit to bring in the steps I know are important - like frozen butter. Scones turned out totally fine and I can't really tell the difference. I think if I had been adding in cranberries it would have made sense to follow the tried and true way.
I'll be honest. The scones are good. They aren't too pumpkin-y or seasonally offensive. The real home run for these scones is the cinnamon butter. It's heavenly and totally turns these B+ scones into an A+ home run. Do not skip the cinnamon butter whatever you do.
Here's how it goes.
- DRY INGREDIENTS // Whisk granulated sugar, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, cloves, baking soda, and 2 cups flour in a large bowl.
- WET INGREDIENTS // Mix in egg, pumpkin, and ¼ cup milk.
- GRATE BUTTER // Using the large holes on a box grater, grate in butter.
- Add butter to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Then add in the wet and mix until you get a dough. If it's too sticky, don't worry about it. It'll get less sticky when you dump it on the floured counter.
- Dump dough to a lightly floured surface. If necessary, sprinkle more flour on the top so it's less sticky to handle. Shape dough into a long rectangle about 1½”-thick. This might mean it's about 4 inches wide.
- Cut into shapes that you want. I first cut into like 5-6 rectangles and then cut those in half so you get triangles. But honestly, the shape does not matter at all.
- Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for about 25 minutes until firm.
- Alternate step - You can stop right here... and leave the scones in the freezer overnight. Then in the morning, you just bake them and get freshly warm scones. It's a genius power move.
- Brush frozen scones with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until light brown at 400°. Serve with cinnamon butter.
- Cinnamon Butter? Add syrup and cinnamon to softened butter. Mix it. That's it. Proportions are up to you but you honestly can't screw it up.
Shopping List
Scones
½ cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 stick frozen butter, plus more for brushing
1 large egg
½ cup canned pure pumpkin
¼ cup milk
Cinnamon Butter
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
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