Fall recipes from fabulous food bloggers

Spiced pumpkin scones and caramel butter

Recipe and photography by Tara O'Brady

These scones aren’t the dainty sort; they are rustic but tender, slightly sweet with pumpkin and the aromatic spices of fall baking. Just the thing to snack on alongside a cup of tea.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 cups cake flour

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon ground clove

• 1 cup (1/2 pound, 2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, diced

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1 cup pumpkin purée (unsweetened)

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons 35% (heavy, whipping) cream, chilled

• Granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Use parchment paper to line a standard baking sheet and set aside.

2 In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. On the machine's lowest setting, cut in the chilled butter until the mixture resembles course meal. The butter should be in small pieces approximately the size of peas.

3 In a bowl, lightly whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée and 1/2 cup cream. With the machine running still on low (or stir), pour the liquids slowly into the flour and butter mixture, stirring until just combined. Small bits of butter should still be visible, and almost all the flour should be incorporated. If the mixture seems dry, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream.

4 Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Working quickly, gently knead the dough, folding and pressing gently until fairly smooth. Divide the dough into four, and shape each ball of dough into a 4" round about 3/4-1-inch thick. Cut each round into four wedges, and place on the prepared baking sheet.

5 Bake in preheated oven until the the tops are barely golden and the cut sides look flaky and dry, around 20 minutes. When fully cooked, they should feel light for their size and sound almost hollow when tapped underneath. Place on a wire rack, sprinkle with granulated sugar, and cool for at least 5 minutes. Best served warm.

Makes 16 medium scones


About Tara O'Brady 5 years ago, Tara started Seven Spoons, a blog that allowed her to document her culinary experiments. Since that point, the Southern Ontario native has created a site that showcases fabulously photographed recipes and musings of her day-to-day life.