Pumpkin Cardamom Scones (Gluten-free)

Pumpkin Cardamom Scones with Maple Glaze

Gluten-Free Recipe

Let’s just say, my last baking experience didn’t go well. My attempt at a delicious chocolate cake came out looking like a brown blob of some kind of monster from the deep.

That’s when I learned I’m a cook, not a baker. But that doesn’t mean I’ll stop trying; I can still be a baker yet!

It’s that time of the year where I want everything pumpkin flavored and I’m not the only one in our house who’s a fan of pumpkins. My assistant, Loki, is a gourd fiend but has a special place in his heart for squash and pumpkins as well. We have the same celebratory pumpkin dance.

This recipe for pumpkin cardamon scones was derived from a recipe from Gully Creek Cottage; I made just a few alterations to it.

The original recipe is here, if you wish to take a look:

Pumpkin Cardamom Scones

A few things to consider before you begin:

• Freeze your butter. You want your butter to be very cold for scones, it is one of your leavening agents in the recipe but in order for it to do it’s work, it can’t melt before it gets into the oven. It’s the action of the butter flakes melting during the baking that create little pockets of air as the steam is released.
  • Side note: baking soda is your other leavening agent in this recipe. Fun fact! – When baking soda is combined with an acid it produces carbon dioxide gas that gets trapped in the batter causing it to inflate.
• Grate your butter. It’s so much easier to mix in.
• Mix it up! I chose spices that I love, swap out or opt out of spices to make it to your liking

First you are going to combine all your dry ingredients. I chose to  use Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 Baking Flour because it’s a great gluten-free alternative to regular flour. However, if you prefer to use regular flour, it calls for the same amount.

Now it’s time to add in your butter. As I mentioned above, to make it easier on you, I recommend grating the butter. It will look something like this, doesn’t it look delicious?!

Use your fingers to work the butter into the dough. If you rub the butter into the dry mixture with your fingertips, you will add as little heat as possible, preserving your delicious butter flakes for optimal fluffiness.

You want it to resemble coarse crumbs, here’s what mine looked like –

Next, you will take your remaining scone ingredients (the wet ingredients) and whisk them together in a bowl. Once well combined, add the wet ingredients to your dry and stir using a rubber spatula until it has formed into a soft dough.

Turn your soft dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough with your hands 3-4 times, being careful not to over work the dough.

With a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is a 10 by 7 inch rectangle, about 1 inch thick. With a weapon of choice (mine was a pizza cutter, I highly recommend it), cut the rectangle half lengthwise, then half crosswise. Cut each of those four rectangles into two triangles, you should have a total of 8 scones cut, like so –

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat, whatever you have handy. Bake at 400 degrees F for approximately 10 – 12 minutes. A good test to see if their done it to gently press the top, if it leaves an indent, it goes back in the oven for longer, if bounces back, they’re done!

I’ll admit, mine did not come out as fluffy as I had hoped. Next time I will be patient and my butter will be colder and well mixed into the flour. But, they still taste delicious!

Pumpkin Cardamom Scones

2cups        Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 Baking Flour

1/3cup       Brown Sugar

1tsp.           Baking Powder

1/2tsp.      Cardamom

1/2tsp.      Cinnamon

1/2tsp.      Nutmeg

1/2tsp.      Ginger

1/2tsp.      Ground cloves

1/2tsp.      Baking soda

1/4tsp.      Salt

8 Tbls       Unsalted butter, Cold (1 stick)

1/2cup.     Pumpkin puree

3tbls.        Whole milk

1 large      Egg

1tsp.          Vanilla

Icing

3/4cup.    Powdered sugar

3-5tsp.     Whole milk

1tbls.          Maple syrup

1tsp            Vanilla

Pinch of cardamom

Pumpkin Scones:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients; flour, brown sugar, baking powder, spices, baking soda, salt).
3. Grate the cold butter (I recommend frozen) directly into the bowl of dry ingredients. Using your hands, gently rub the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a texture that resembles coarse crumbs.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together your remaining scone ingredients (wet ingredients; pumpkin puree, milk, egg, and vanilla).
5. Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with your dry ingredients and gently combine with a rubber spatula. You want this to form into a soft dough.
6. Lightly flour your countertop and turn the soft dough out onto it. Knead the dough 3-4 times until it comes together, see image above if you aren’t sure what it should look like. Keep in mind, you do want to see the butter flakes in it!
7. With a rolling pin, roll out your dough with as few rolls as possible until it is about a 10- by 7- inch rectangle, about 1- inch thick.
8. Using a cutting tool (a pizza cutter works well) you want to cut your dough to result in 8 total scones. Cut it in half lengthwise, and in half again crosswise, then cut each of your now four smaller rectangles in half diagonally so you are left with 8 relatively uniform triangles.
9. Place on your lined baking sheet and in the oven. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes until fully baked.
10. Remove from the baking sheet and let the scones cool for about 10 minutes before you pour the glaze over them.

Glaze:

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

If you prefer a thinner consistency, add more milk, if you want it thicker, add more powdered sugar.

Sprinkle additional spice or chopped nuts to garnish.

Dig in and enjoy! 🙂