Tags

, , , , ,

**Update – the Improv Cooking Challenge has been cancelled.

It’s time for the Improv Cooking Challenge again! Novembers ingredients are some of my all-time favorites: pumpkin and cream cheese!

Lucky for me, I’d just found a pumpkin scone recipe that I was dying to try. ;)
(Recipe found here!)

The recipe didn’t call for cream cheese but I figured it would be easy enough to add some to the glaze.
And seriously, you almost can’t have a pumpkin recipe without some sort of cream cheese goodness to compliment it.

Pumpkin Scones (from theshoeboxKitchen)

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (I used turbinado – love that stuff)
  • 1 TBSP 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 TBSP cold butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (we used our fresh pumpkin puree)
  • 3 TBSP half-and-half
  • 1 large egg

Cream Cheese Glaze

  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • 2 TBSP milk (plus extra to thin down)
  • 4 oz cream cheese

Spiced Glaze

  • 1 cup plus 3 TBSP powdered sugar
  • 2 TBSP milk
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • Pinch of ground ginger
  • Pinch of ground cloves

Preheat oven to 425.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together pumpkin, half-and-half and egg.
Set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Mix well.

Add cubed butter to top and blend together until consistency resembles cornmeal. (I used my KitchenAid.)
Gradually fold the wet ingredients into the dry.
The dough will be very thick.

On a well-floured surface, flatten and form the dough into a 12″ x 4″ x 1″ thick rectangle.
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, divide the dough into three equal pieces.
Slice each piece into an X shape, resulting in four triangles (12 total).

Place triangles on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
While the scones are cooling, make your cream cheese glaze.
This is where I deviated from the recipe just a tiny bit, by adding in the cream cheese.
Mix the powdered sugar and milk together, then add the cream cheese and beat until smooth, adding milk (increase by 1 TBSP at a time) until you reach the consistency it was before adding the cream cheese in. It should be fairly thin, but not runny.
Brush onto scones with a pastry brush.

Let dry for 10 minutes.
Combine all of the ingredients for the spiced glaze and drizzle on top of scones.
Enjoy!

These were seriously the best scones I’ve ever tried. I think the key is the pumpkin because it keeps them from becoming too dry, which is a common problem in scones.
These are perfect for this time of year!

 
Parties I link to: Craft-O-Maniac, Lines Across My Face, Sew Can Do, Sew Chatty, C.R.A.F.T., Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, The Southern Institute,  Chef In Training, Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Vintage Wanna Bee, Sugar Bee Crafts, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Todays Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, Mandy’s Recipe Box, the Sasse Life, My Girlish Whims, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Sew Much Ado, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Southern Lovely, House of Hepworths,  The Crafty Blog Stalker,  Something Swanky, A Glimpse Inside, Delicate Construction, Simply Sweet Home, Tidy Mom, Thirty Handmade Days, Tatertots and Jello, Bacon Time, Flamingo Toes, Six Sisters Stuff, Naptime Creations, Crazy for Crust