“The” Autumn Scone

Nothing says “Autum” like the scent of the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice coming from pumpkin spice scones right out of the oven. Add a touch of maple syrup, the sweet gift of Native Americans, to the opaque glaze or cream-cheese frosting to kindle the inner glow of family and friends huddled together.

Step by step instructions

Blend the wet ingredients:

Blend the milk and egg together thoroughly using a milk frother or blender. Transfer the ingredients to a squeeze bottle and put it in your refrigerator to cool until you combine the wet and dry ingredients.

TIP: If you’re making a second batch to cook or freeze, blend the wet ingredients for both batches and place them in separate squeeze bottles.

Combine the dry ingredients:

Add all of the dry ingredients, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 tbsp of Pumpkin Spice to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.

Slice the butter into chunks:

Slice the butter into chunks by cutting the length of a stick of butter you’re using in half along its long side, flip it on its side, and slice it again in half. Then cut the long side in half and each half into quarters. Mix the butter chunks into the dry ingredients.

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients:

Use a butter cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until they are about the size of peas.

TIP: Slightly larger chunks create a crunchier scone, leaving bigger gaps in the crumb when they melt.

Put the dry ingredients in your freezer for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients:

After 15 minutes, remove the bowl with the dry ingredients from the freezer and place it on a sticky pad. A sticky pad makes this step go faster by keeping the bowl still while stirring in the wet ingredients. You may have to rub the bottom of the bowl to remove any ice before putting it on the sticky pad.

Remove the squeeze bottle with the wet ingredients from the refrigerator. Slowly combine the wet and dry ingredients by squirting a thin line with the squeeze bottle and rapidly stirring it in with the tines of a large (serving) fork. This MUST BE DONE BY HAND. You don’t want to create a mix or dough. You want to wet the dry ingredients to keep them in pea-sized clusters.

When the dry ingredients start to look wet, use the tines to pull the moist ingredients to one side. This will expose the drier ingredients below. Use smaller squirts from the squeeze bottle onto the dry ingredients and stir faster with the tines. When no dry ingredients are left, stop adding liquid.

Form the dough:

Start to form the dough. Gently press it down and fold it a few times until it forms one log. Fold the log in half and move it to a silicone mat.

It’s easiest to form the dough using a 7” ring. Press the dough from the center outward until the dough fills the ring. Swirl the ring around the dough to give it a better edge. Then remove the ring.

If forming by hand, use the measured circles on your silicone mat to form the 7″ circle, then press the flat side of your long knife around the edges to firm them.

Cut the dough into eight scones:

Make four equal cuts with a long serrated knife to divide the dough into eight sections. Move the knife slightly back and forth on its flat side with each cut to make it easier to separate each scone.

Place the scones on your baking sheet:

Slide the flat side of the long knife under each scone and move it to the parchment paper on the baking sheet.

TIP: If you plan to store or serve the scones on a 10” round after they’re baked, make sure to place them on the parchment paper in the same order that you take them off of the dough circle. Otherwise, they will not form an even circle.

Bake:

Place your baking sheet on a middle rack in your preheated oven and bake for eight minutes at 400°.

When eight minutes is up, turn the pan around in the oven and bake for another seven to eight minutes. The center of the scones should feel solid, not liquidy. Remove the scones to a cooling rack.

TIP: If you plan to store or serve the scones on a 10” round after they’re baked, make sure to keep them in the same order that you took them off of the original dough circle. Otherwise, they will not form an even circle.

Glaze the scones:

Mix the glaze ingredients, powdered sugar and maple syrup together. Add enough heavy cream and mix until smooth and somewhat thick.

Wait for the scones to completely cool. Then cover the tops of each scone with the glaze using a spoon. For an added touch, add a dash of pumpkin spice on top.

~ or ~

Frost the scones:

You can top the scones with a cream cheese frosting flavored with pumpkin spice and maple syrup to give these scones a cake-like decadence.

In a stand mixer or bowl with a hand electric mixer combine 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, 4 oz of softened cream cheese cut into 1/2 cubes, 1 1/2 tbsp of maple syrup, and a 1/2 tsp of pumpkin spice. Beat on low with the flat blade of a stand mixer or regular blades of a hand mixer until the powdered sugar is combined with the cream-cheese. Continue to beat on high until the frosting is fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times to evenly distribute the flavors.

Use a spatula to cover the top each scone.