Pumpkin Scones

 My kids have the whole week off and today is the first day we have gotten out of our pajamas.  I am not sure if I even count because I have workout clothes on!  We are heading to the movies to see Pete's Dragon at the cheap theater and I am probably the only one excited.  My boys are seriously homebodies!  I probably have not accomplished anything this week, because I have gotten sucked into vegging out with my boys, who are just wanting cuddles.  I'll take it when my 8 year old says, "let's cuddle!"  There has just been a wonderful amount of sweetness this week that I am reminded how much I miss having them home during the school day (although, I like going to the store without them. . . that I miss!).  Which brings me to another point:

One thing I am super thankful for is my husband.  He truly is a gift from God.  But seriously, I asked him at the beginning of the week if he would be able to go into work a bit late one morning so I could attempt Trader Joe's before the crazy and without kids.  (KEYWORDS: WITHOUT KIDS!!!!).  I just had horrible visions of a tiny, packed parking lot, kids running people over in those tiny carts (read this. . . it's awesome!), and it taking way longer than getting stuff to make salads should ever take.  This week ended up being a bit on the quiet side for him, so he stayed home with the kiddos and I went to Trader Joes and Target/Starbucks in less than 90 minutes! Again! So thankful!  So, aside from an obscure ingredient for a delicious looking salad, I am done!   There might just be a happy dance going on now!  

Anyways, this recipe is probably one of the most requested baked good I get from my kids.  I posted it here a long time ago and I must have been really lazy, because I just posted the link, which honestly doesn't do it justice because I have made a few adjustments to it to make them even better!  I used my food processor for these and it literally just takes a few minutes before getting them in the oven. There really isn't anything intimidating about scones, and these are soooo easy.  This batch, I made them the night before and then iced them the next morning.  It worked out perfectly!  I might even make a batch of these for tomorrow. . . perfect for Thanksgiving! 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Pumpkin Scones
Adapted from Food.com

Ingredients:
 2 cups all purpose flour
7 TBS sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
6 TBS cold butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 TBS heavy whipping cream
1 large egg

Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 TBS powdered sugar, 2 TBS almond milk

Spiced glaze: 2 cup powdered sugar, 3 TBS powdered sugar, 2 TBS almond milk, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, pinch of ginger and a pinch of cloves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Bake on baking stone or line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat. 

Throw all your dry ingredients into your food processor.  Pulse a few times to break down the chunks.  Add cold butter. Pulse some more until your mixture is nice and crumbly.  Add pumpkin, whipping cream, and egg to dry ingredients and pulse together until all mixed up.  It should start looking all glopped (is that a word?) together like a ball.  Put mixture onto a floured surface and pat it out into a circle about 1 inch thick.  Use cookie cutters or cut triangles with a knife.  Bake for about 14 minutes.  They should turn light brown.  Let them cool completely. 

Mix the powdered sugar with almond milk (we use almond milk because we have dairy issues, so if you want to use real milk, it'll still work).  Brush on cool scones.  Let it sit for a bit until it sets.  Then add the remaining powdered sugar and spices to what's left of your glaze and add just enough almond milk until you get a much thicker glaze.  Pour into a sandwich bag, snip off the end and drizzle over tops of glazed scones.  Let sit for a bit (who are we kidding, eat immediately!).

SCONE MAKING TIP:  So, here's a quick scone making tip.  Freeze the butter before you make them.  It's okay, if you just keep in the fridge, but whatever you do, don't take the butter out until you absolutely are ready to chop it up and stick in the food processor.  Cold Butter is essential to getting that flakiness you want with a scone.