Recipe: Pumpkin Scones

I shouldn't have teased you with photos of those delicious pumpkin scones without giving you the recipe. Truth is, it was almost 11:30 by the time I finished writing the post, and couldn't stay awake any longer (there's a companion story to this, but it's long and not relevant to pumpkin scones). I found this on the Internet years ago because I was looking to make scones like I used to get at the market in Halifax (Mary's Bread Basket - mmmmmm!).

Pumpkin Scones

• 1/4 c butter or margarine, slightly softened
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp corn syrup
• 1 c cooked pumpkin or squash (the canned filling is good too)
• 2 2/3 c flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch ground ginger
• 1/3 c milk (or less)

1. Sift together dry ingredients, and put aside.

2. Beat together sugar and butter. Add egg and corn syrup and mix. Stir in pumpkin with a spoon, and add half the dry ingredients, only stirring until they are combined.

3. Add the rest of the dry ingredients with just enough milk to make dough soft. Be careful not to overmix. If it's too sticky, sprinkle with flour.

(NOTE: I vary how much of the milk from time to time. Sometimes I don't use it all, but this time I did. The scones were very moist and soft, but I also had to add another half a cup of flour to keep in together when I was kneading the dough.)

4. Knead the dough lightly. Pat into a large rectangle of uniform thickness, and cut into squares (if you want to roll it out and use a cutter to cut out shapes, you could do that, too.)

5. Bake for 18 minutes at 450 degrees. Baking time will vary from oven to oven, so start checking around the 15 minute mark - in my oven, it only took about 16 minutes, and halfway through the baking time I rotated the tray (things at the back of the oven tend to burn, while things in the front tend to not cook enough). You'll know they're done when the tops are golden.