Week 31:
RECIPE OF THE WEEK FROM OUR CULINARY INSTRUCTOR KAY BENAROCH
This week Kay is sharing King Arthur Flour’s delectable recipe for pumpkin harvest scones. These delicious scones are perfect for fall mornings or afternoon tea on a chilly day!
Pumpkin Harvest Scones
Source: King Arthur flour
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups (11 1/2 ounces) flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ cup butter (1 stick, cut into small slices and then into quarters)
- 2/3 cup canned pumpkin filling or squash
- 2 eggs
- Butterscotch or Cinnamon chips – about 1 cup
- Crystalized Ginger – about 1 cup cut into small dice (or raisins or dried cranberries)
Instructions
- Put first eight ingredients in a mixing bowl
- Add 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pats. Work in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it’s OK for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated.
- If desired, add 1 to 2 cups minced crystallized ginger, cinnamon chips, or chocolate chips; Stir to combine.
- Put 2/3 cup canned pumpkin and 2 large eggs in a bowl. Whisk to combine then add to the dry ingredients.
- Mix to form a shaggy dough. Don’t mix any longer than you have to; the more you handle the dough, the tougher the scones will be.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment; if you don’t have parchment, just use it without greasing it. Sprinkle a bit of flour atop the parchment or pan. Scrape the sticky dough onto the floured parchment or pan. Divide it in half, and round each half into a 5” circle (if you haven’t incorporated any add-ins); or a 6” circle (if you’ve added 2 cups of fruit, chips, etc.). The circles should be about 3/4” thick. Brush each circle with milk or cream……and sprinkle with some white sugar or cinnamon sugar. Using a knife or pastry knife that you’ve run under cold water, slice each circle into 6 wedges.
- Carefully pull the wedges away from the center to separate them just a bit; there should be about 1/2” space between them, at their outer edges. For best texture and highest rise, place the pan of scones in the refrigerator or freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered. If you don’t want to bake scones right away, shape and put them on a pan, but don’t brush with milk, nor sprinkle with sugar. Place in the freezer, covered with plastic, and freeze until solid, which should take an hour or so. Remove from the pan, and bag airtight; return to the freezer. When you’re ready for scones, there’s no need to thaw them; just place frozen scones on a pan, brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar, and bake as directed below, giving the scones about 5 additional minutes in the oven.
- While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F.Bake the scones for 22 to 25 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean, with no wet crumbs. Remove the scones from the oven.