PUMPKIN CRANBERRY SCONES

• November 24, 2014
• Mari Bickmore
• 2 comments

My son and his wife came in from Redondo Beach (to the cold Midwest) for Thanksgiving and brought my darling granddaughters with them! I am so thrilled to have those little girls here with me. They live far too far away. Since we no longer have a minivan to cart everyone around in (thank the heavens!), my husband had to pick them up from the airport alone (and, oops, my son forgot to tell him that they were coming in an hour later than the email said so he had to sit there forEVER waiting). But that’s another story. Anyway, I wanted them to come home to the smell of baked goods and cocoa, and I wanted to try these scones. They certainly fit the bill, with that pumpkin and cinnamon aroma that is the embodiment of fall. I used a new gluten-free flour that I found at Costco that is cup for cup exchange for regular flour. I hadn’t tried it before, and frankly I had tried some that failed miserably, so I was taking a big chance for catastrophe, but this one is fabulous. I am sure that if you had scones made with regular  flour side by side with the gluten-free ones there might be a difference, but these were great. I will try more types of baking with this flour and see how it turns out, but for now I am sold.

These were really yummy and with the cinnamon butter on the side… I also served these with eggs and sausage, but they could stand alone at breakfast or high tea!

These were originally from Bon Appetit, now with my slight variations.
PREHEAT OVEN TO 400
INGREDIENTS
CINNAMON BUTTER
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoon pure maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

SCONES
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups Namaste gluten-free flour (or all-purpose flour)
¾ cup (1½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter
½ cup chopped fresh (or frozen, thawed) cranberries (I used fresh)
1 large egg
½ cup canned pure pumpkin
¼ cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing
2 tablespoons raw sugar

CINNAMON BUTTER
Mix butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl.
Cinnamon butter can be made 4 days ahead. Cover and chill.

SCONES
1. Whisk granulated sugar, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, cloves, baking soda, and 2 cups flour in a large bowl.
2. Using the large holes on a box grater, grate in butter, tossing to coat in dry ingredients as you go; toss in cranberries. Mix in egg, pumpkin, and ¼ cup buttermilk.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into a 1½”-thick disk. Cut into 8 wedges.

4. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, 25–30 minutes.
5. Brush scones with buttermilk and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake until golden brown, 25–30 minutes. Serve with cinnamon butter.

Sorry, but several of my pictures disappeared! Hope you like this! If you do drop back in!