We’re not sick of pumpkin yet, are we?
Hopefully not. Because pumpkin scones are here, and they are waiting for us with open arms. And by open arms, I mean brown butter-vanilla glaze.
Personally, I’m going to continue to keep baking and eating copious amounts of pumpkin until at least Thanksgiving. Possibly until April. What? Yeah, it’s always pumpkin season in this house. At least until it becomes panzanella salad and fresh corn season. Then it gets a little hiatus while I’m distracted by all the pretty colorful things and having to present myself in a bathing suit every once and awhile.
But since those sunny and warm times are far, far away, let’s talk scones. My favorite scone recipe of all time (don’t worry, I’ll share it here soon) is an insanely awesome, cookie-like cream scone filled with dark chocolate chunks, an almost gooey center, and a perfectly crunchy outside. Seriously, the texture is out of control. They are scones to throw in baskets, to bring to a party, to show off. These pumpkin scones are not that. These scones are warm and cakey and soft and cozy. They have the warm fall flavors of pumpkin and spices, jacked up with the most delicious brown butter glaze that adds the perfect hit of sweetness and depth of flavor. They are scones for eating cuddled up with someone you love, on a snowy winter morning, with a cup of coffee or tea and a great book or trashy TV show (I don’t tell you how to live your life, ya know?) They are the scone equivalent of drinking wine on the couch in your pajamas. And since that is pretty much all I ever want to do, ever, I consider that a scone compliment of the highest order.
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp fresh grated nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 ½ sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- 1 cup cold buttermilk
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsp whole milk
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheet with parchment paper to prepare, and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves with a whisk. Add the cold butter cubes (you may have to refrigerate again after cutting to make sure they remain cold) to the dry ingredients.
- Using your fingers or a pastry blender, break the butter down as quickly as possible into the dry ingredients. The butter clumps will be various sizes, but all should be smaller than a pea.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients – buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. Dump the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir together until pretty much combined, then add the pecans and stir until completely combined and no flour bits remain unmixed. Using a standard-size ice cream scoop, scoop the dough out onto the baking sheets, leaving a decent amount of space between each scone (I fit 6 on each baking sheet).
- Bake for about 18 minutes or until the scones are cooked through and browned slightly on top (you can use a toothpick to test for doneness in the middle). Allow the scones to cool completely, about 1 hour or more.
- Once scones are cool, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low. It takes awhile, but keep a close eye on it, because eventually the butter will begin to brown. For me, the biggest visual cue when the brown butter is ready is when the butter solids begin to brown. It should also smell nutty and delicious. Once it hits this point, remove the butter from the heat and pour into a small bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, brown butter, vanilla, and 2 tbsp of milk to combine. Continue to add a little more milk until the glaze is thickened to taste. Drizzle the scones with the glaze and eat within 2 days of preparing. Try not to eat the glaze by the bowlful.
- To freeze part or all of the recipe, follow the recipe through preparing the scone dough and adding to a baking sheet. Stick the entire baking sheet in the freezer for a few hours or overnight, and then once hardened transfer the scones to a freezer-safe container until ready to prepare. Then finish the rest of the directions as written, except you probably have to add a few minutes to the baking time.
- Adapted from Mockingbird Bakery via Joy the Baker.
