Winter Warmers: Whole Grain Pumpkin Spice Scones

There's nothing quite like biting into a warm scone, and this one has all the fall flavors you love along with a soft and moist texture and a bit of healthy grains. Pumpkin pie spice for the win!

Whole Grain Pumpkin Spice Scones

It's cold and rainy today and I have a pot of soup on the stove cooking away, so I thought I would do some baking and of course pastries come to mind.  I'm feeling a nice cup of tea maybe with Chai spices to go along with some scones.  Not basic scones.  Let's bake warm and inviting Whole Grain Pumpkin Spice Scones.  Perfect with my tea, or coffee if you'd like.  So grab that extra can of pumpkin puree leftover from Thanksgiving and let's get baking.  

Scones are part of the quickbread family and are easy to throw together.  One bowl and a few simple ingredients is all you need and you'll have a tender dough made in no time.  Then you can just make drop scones like I did today and not fuss with rolling out the dough and cutting it.  They're rustic, they're quick, they're heavenly!

Enjoy!

What Ingredients do I need?

• all purpose flour
• white whole wheat flour
• sugar
• baking powder
• salt
• cinnamon
• ginger
• nutmeg
• unsalted butter
• pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix)
• eggs

Substitutions and Variations

• Use only all purpose flour

• substitute pumpkin pie spice 1 1/2 teaspoons for the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg

• substitute brown sugar for regular granulated sugar.

• Brush the top of the scones with milk, then sprinkle with coarse sparkling sugar. You can also top with cinnamon sugar, or Demerara sugar. 

• Use a bench knife or a sharp knife to cut each round into six triangular wedges. Placing the formed scones on the baking sheet in the refrigerator or freezer for 15 minutes will give you a better rise and a flakier texture.  Try this is you have the extra time.

• Substitute the pumpkin puree for sweet potato or butternut squash puree (mashed) for a different but pleasant flavor profile.

• Add Mix-Ins: (add up to 1 cup)
• crystalized ginger
• cinnamon chips
• chocolate chips
• toasted chopped pecans or walnuts
• dried cranberries or raisins
• caramel chips

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• Wrap any leftovers airtight, and store at room temperature. Reheat very briefly in the microwave, if desired.

• Forming scones 3 ways: 1. Dump the dough from the bowl straight on to a parchment lined baking pan.  Using your hands form the dough in to a 5-6 inch circle.  Cut dough in to 6 triangle wedges, pulling apart about 1/2" so there is space when baking.  2. Scoop dough using a 1/3 measuring cup and drop on to a parchment lined baking sheet.  3.  Place dough on a floured board and roll dough to 1/2" thickness.  Cut out scones using a round or decorative biscuit/cookie cutter.

• Grating butter in to the flour mixture is an easy way to start out with small bits of butter to work in to the flour, and less work in the end!  Once you've grated the butter, you can cut in the butter using your fingers or a pastry cutter.  

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Other Scones to try:

Stollen Scones

Apple Ginger Scones

Strawberry Shortcake Scones

Lemon Blueberry Scones

Simple Chocolate Chip Scones

Basic Scone Recipe

Whole Grain Pumpkin Spice Scones

yield:  8-10 round scones

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
2/3 cup pumpkin purée
2 large eggs

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.

Using a hand grater, grate the butter in to the mixture.  Work in the butter using your hands until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it's okay for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated.  The mixture should look shaggy.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and eggs until smooth.  Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until everything is moistened and holds together.

Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup scoop up some dough and form in to a rough circle with your hands about 1/2" thick.  Place it on the parchment lined baking sheet.  Continue making drop scones and placing the scones about 1 inch apart.  Bake for 14-16 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool.  Serve.