Pumpkin and eggnog are two complementary flavors and they pair well in these Pumpkin and Eggnog Scones that are lovely in autumn and around the Christmas period. The scones are tasty served warm with clotted cream or English double cream, and fig jam, in particular, though any jam of choice can, of course, be used. They are also delicious served simply with a good slather of butter.
Note, from the photo below how I am taking a neutral stance on the Cornish method and the Devon method of applying the cream and jam to the scones! I enjoy scones via either method.
I won’t go into a lot of detail in this posting about how to make scones. If you are unfamiliar with the procedure or need some hints and tips for making scones, please read my tutorial posting on the subject by clicking here.
I created this recipe using one of my favorite custom blends of flours – all-purpose, sorghum, and superfine blanched almond flours. This is a lovely blend of flours I regularly use in my baking, both in regular and gluten-free baking. I use them because they give lovely texture to baked goods.
If sorghum and almond flours are not flours you regularly use, and you choose to make this recipe, I recommend visiting your nearest bulk food store where flours can be bought in any amount needed. These stores are great sources from which to purchase small amounts of specialty flours (like sorghum and almond flours) when specifically called for in a recipe. This eliminates the need to buy an entire bag of each, especially if they aren’t flours you normally use. This said, if you plan to make many of my baked goods recipes, you will often find that these are the flours called for in the recipes.
This recipe calls for pure pumpkin purée, not to be confused with canned pumpkin pie filling, a different product altogether. The pumpkin purée will have a lot of moisture in it and, to ensure the scones don’t become wet and doughy, I recommend measuring out the ½ cup of pumpkin purée and rolling it in a tea towel before using it. Simply place the purée on a clean tea towel. Roll it up. Blot the purée in the tea towel then unroll it. You don’t want to remove all the moisture as it forms part of the moisture content of the scones, just remove some of the excess moisture likely to make wet scones. If you are using pumpkin you cooked yourself, you may find it beneficial to roll the puréed pumpkin a second time in a tea towel to remove excess moisture which would make the scones very wet and heavy.
Ensure that full-fat eggnog is used in this recipe, and not fat-reduced as full fat eggnog will give the scones superior texture. I have listed individual amounts of spices. However, if you have an already-mixed spice called “Pumpkin Pie Spice”, it can be used in an amount equal to the total amount of individual spices listed.
With the addition of pumpkin purée, the dough will be somewhat soft. I recommend refrigerating the dough for 20-25 minutes before cutting out the scones. This will allow the dry ingredients time to absorb the wet ingredients and make it easier to cut out the scones.
The scones can be made in rounds, wedges, or baked in a “mound” with score marks applied for wedges. To make the “mound” version, simply pat the dough into two circles as you would for making individual wedge scones and make score marks, about ½“ deep into the dough for six equal-sized wedges in each “mound”. Once baked, the wedges will easily break, or pull, apart at the score marks and each will have lovely soft sides.
These Pumpkin and Eggnog Scones are a lovely treat in autumn and around the holiday period. Accompany them with your favorite cup of tea or coffee.
Pumpkin and Eggnog Scones
Ingredients:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup superfine blanched almond flour
¼ cup sorghum flour
2¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp allspice
1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp cold unsalted * butter, cut into ½“ cubes
1 large egg (cold), lightly beaten with fork
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp full fat eggnog (cold)
½ cup pure pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp eggnog for brushing tops of scones
1 – 2 tsp turbinado sugar for sprinkling tops of scones (optional)
Method:
Roll pumpkin purée in a tea towel to blot and remove excess moisture.
In large bowl, sieve or sift the flours, baking powder, salt, and spices together. Stir in the brown sugar to mix well. Drop the cubes of butter into the dry ingredients and toss to coat the butter. Cut in the butter with a wire pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs or pea-sized pieces. Quickly run fingers through the mixture several times, scooping up bits of the butter and rubbing them into long paper-thin slivers between the thumb and forefinger. It is not necessary to do this with every piece of butter – just quickly pick several at random.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
In a small bowl or large measuring cup, lightly whisk the egg, eggnog, pumpkin purée, and vanilla together. Pour liquid ingredients all at once into well in center of dry ingredients. Using a fork, stir dough just enough that the liquid is absorbed into the dry ingredients and the dough can be roughly brought together. Dough will be soft and sticky and some floury spots may remain. Transfer dough onto lightly floured work surface, gently working it just until the dry ingredients are barely incorporated and a shaggy dough mass forms.
Fold the dough in half over onto itself. Lightly press the dough down. Turn the dough a half turn and repeat the folding exercise. Repeat this 3-4 times. Shape dough loosely into a circular shape. Dough will be very soft; refrigerate for 20-25 minutes.
Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
To make wedge-style scones:
With a bench/pastry scraper or sharp knife, divide the dough into two equal parts. Lightly press and form each part into a small circle about ¾“ -1“ thick. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cut each circle into six equal wedges and separate the scones by about ¾”, still keeping each group of six wedges in a circular shape for baking. Refrigerate for 20 – 30 minutes.
Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
Remove scones from refrigerator and, using a pastry brush, lightly brush eggnog on tops of scones. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
NOTE: Scones can be baked as “mounds” in two circles and the dough scored into six wedges each, about ½“ deep. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes prior to baking and lightly brush the circles with eggnog and sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if desired, just prior to transferring to oven. After baking and cooling slightly, the wedges can be broken apart at the score marks.
To make round-shaped scones:
Lightly press dough into circle about ¾ – 1“ thick. Use a lightly floured 1¾” – 2” round cutter to cut scones from dough. Push the cutter straight down and out of the dough without twisting the cutter in the process. Re-flour the cutter before cutting out each scone. Gather dough scraps and form into a circle from which to cut remaining scones, being careful to work the dough no more than absolutely necessary to bring it together. Transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, placing scones about 1” apart. Refrigerate for 20 – 30 minutes.
Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
Remove scones from refrigerator and lightly brush eggnog on tops of scones. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if desired.
To bake scones (wedge-shaped, round, or mound):
Bake scones 15-18 minutes or until the scone tops are set. Rotate the baking sheet partway through the baking. Remove scones from oven and leave them on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. (Note, if baking the scones as “mounds”, they may take a slight few minutes longer to bake.)
*salted butter may be substituted for the unsalted butter in which case, reduce the ½ teaspoon of salt called for in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon.
To serve: Serve warm scones along with clotted cream or English double cream and a favorite jam and/or curd. Or, simply enjoy with a good slather of butter on the scones.
Yield: 1 dozen wedge-shaped scones or apx 10 – 2” round scones (exact number will depend on size of cutter used and thickness of dough), or two mounds yielding six scones each.
If you have made this recipe and enjoyed it and/or wish to share it with your friends and family, please do so on social media but be sure to share the direct link to this posting from my website.
Connect with My Island Bistro Kitchen on Social Media
Join the Facebook page for My Island Bistro Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/MyIslandBistroKitchen/
Follow “the Bistro” on “X” (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/PEIBistro/
See the drool-worthy gallery of mouth-watering food photos from My Island Bistro Kitchen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peibistro/
Follow “the Bistro” on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.ca/peibistro/ and pin the Pinterest-ready photo at the end
Pumpkin and Eggnog Scones
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup superfine blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup sorghum flour
- 2¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ginger
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp cold unsalted * butter, cut into ½“ cubes
- 1 large egg (cold), lightly beaten with fork
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp full fat eggnog (cold)
- ½ cup pure pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp eggnog for brushing tops of scones
- 1 – 2 tsp turbinado sugar for sprinkling tops of scones (optional)
Instructions
- Roll pumpkin purée in a tea towel to blot and remove excess moisture.
- Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In large bowl, sieve or sift the flours, baking powder, salt, and spices together. Stir in the brown sugar to mix well. Drop the cubes of butter into the dry ingredients and toss to coat the butter. Cut in the butter with a wire pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs or pea-sized pieces. Quickly run fingers through the mixture several times, scooping up bits of the butter and rubbing them into long paper-thin slivers between the thumb and forefinger. It is not necessary to do this with every piece of butter – just quickly pick several at random.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- In a small bowl or large measuring cup, lightly whisk the egg, eggnog, pumpkin purée, and vanilla together. Pour liquid ingredients all at once into well in center of dry ingredients. Using a fork, stir dough just enough that the liquid is absorbed into the dry ingredients and the dough can be roughly brought together. Dough will be soft and sticky and some floury spots may remain. Transfer dough onto lightly floured work surface, gently working it just until the dry ingredients are barely incorporated and a shaggy dough mass forms.
- Fold the dough in half over onto itself. Lightly press the dough down. Turn the dough a half turn and repeat the folding exercise. Repeat this 3-4 times. Shape dough loosely into a circular shape. Dough will be very soft; refrigerate for 20-25 minutes.
To make wedge-style scones:
- With a bench/pastry scraper or sharp knife, divide the dough into two equal parts. Lightly press and form each part into a small circle about ¾“ -1“ thick. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cut each circle into six equal wedges and separate the scones by about ¾”, still keeping each group of six wedges in a circular shape for baking. Refrigerate for 20 - 30 minutes.
- Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
- Remove scones from refrigerator and, using a pastry brush, lightly brush eggnog on tops of scones. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- NOTE: Scones can be baked as “mounds” in two circles and the dough scored into six wedges each, about ½“ deep. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes prior to baking and lightly brush the circles with eggnog and sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if desired, just prior to transferring to oven. After baking and cooling slightly, the wedges can be broken apart at the score marks.
To make round-shaped scones:
- Lightly press dough into circle about ¾ - 1“ thick. Use a lightly floured 1¾” – 2” round cutter to cut scones from dough. Push the cutter straight down and out of the dough without twisting the cutter in the process. Re-flour the cutter before cutting out each scone. Gather dough scraps and form into a circle from which to cut remaining scones, being careful to work the dough no more than absolutely necessary to bring it together. Transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, placing scones about 1” apart. Refrigerate for 20 - 30 minutes.
- Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
- Remove scones from refrigerator and lightly brush eggnog on tops of scones. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if desired.
To bake scones (wedge-shaped, round, or mound):
- Bake scones 15-18 minutes or until the scone tops are set. Rotate the baking sheet partway through the baking. Remove scones from oven and leave them on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. (Note, if baking the scones as “mounds”, they may take a slight few minutes longer to bake.)
- *salted butter may be substituted for the unsalted butter in which case, reduce the ½ teaspoon of salt called for in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon.
To serve: Serve warm scones along with clotted cream or English double cream and a favorite jam and/or curd. Or, simply enjoy with a good slather of butter on the scones.
Recipe Notes
Yield: 1 dozen wedge-shaped scones or apx 10 – 2” round scones (exact number will depend on size of cutter used and thickness of dough), or two mounds yielding six scones each.
[Copyright My Island Bistro Kitchen]
You may also enjoy these other Scone recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen:
Currant and Orange Scones
Cranberry and Lemon Scones
Panettone Scones
Gluten-free Scones
PIN ME TO PINTEREST FOR LATER!
