Spiced Pumpkin Scones are Perfect for Fall

Name: Spiced Pumpkin Scones
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour; 2 cup whole wheat pastry flour; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 tbsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp ground ginger; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 cup butter (cut into small cubes); 1/2 cup pumpkin puree; 1 cup buttermilk; 5 1/2 tsp granulated sugar; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Jessica Fisher · July 25, 2011 · 30 Comments

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These Spiced Pumpkin Scones are delicious for breakfast with your morning coffee as well as an afternoon snack with tea or milk.

These were a spur-of-the-moment creation, based on a half jar of pumpkin sitting in the fridge just crying to be baked into something delicious. Scones sounded lovely.

And they were.

Scones are one of my favorite baked goods to experiment with. I have folded them into the pages of three of my cookbooks and scattered them here and there across the interwebs. They’re almost a perfect food. Like a cookie and a biscuit all wrapped into one.

Some of my favorite scone recipes:

I might need a scone intervention…. Nah.

These Spiced Pumpkin Scones are always a big hit with my people, especially in the fall when pumpkin and spices are such comfort food. These are delicious for breakfast with your morning coffee as well as an afternoon snack with tea or milk. Cut smaller scones for younger folk; bigger scones for us old people. There are benefits to aging.

How I make these good:

Whenever possible I like to cook with plain old ingredients. While the convenience of mixes and canned sauces is nice, I feel better about feeding my family just real food whenever possible. (Go here for some of my reasons on all that.)

The ingredients list in this recipe is pretty wholesome. No mixes or cans, except for the pumpkin. Be sure to get pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie filling. There’s a difference. I use part whole wheat pastry flour to enrich this recipe. Feel free to use all whole wheat or all unbleached, depending on what works for you. If you use all whole wheat, you may need to add a few extra tablespooons of buttermilk.

How I make these cheap:

Here are some of the strategies I use to make this recipe more economical:

Do a price comparison. I know that Costco is the best place to buy ingredients in bulk, like butter, and spices, especially when there isn’t a great sale elsewhere. I keep track of prices so that I know who has the best deal where.
Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. For instance, when I see a great price on canned pumpkin, butter or flour, I buy a lot. Hint: this happens often in the fall months, so watch your sales and buy extra when you see a good sale.
Bake in bulk. It saves so much time and money to make a big batch of scones and freeze the extras. No need to buy a scone when you head to Starbucks next time. Pack your own. Better yet, make your coffee at home, too, and save a bundle.

Tools I use to make this easy:

I use a food processor like this one to cut in the butter and then transfer those buttery crumbs to a bowl and then mix in the liquid ingredients. You can cut the butter in with a pastry blender or with two knives if you don’t have a food processor. Though honestly, I don’t know what I would do without my food processor. It’s essential for scone making!

Since it’s such a big batch, I also use a large stainless steel bowl, similar to this one, to mix everything together. Large sheet pans are a must as is parchment paper, unless you buy USA sheet pans. You don’t need to grease or line those.

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