1. Roll pumpkin purée in a tea towel to blot and remove excess moisture.
2. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. 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.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
5. 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.
6. 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:

1. 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.
2. Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
3. Remove scones from refrigerator and, using a pastry brush, lightly brush eggnog on tops of scones. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
4. 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:

1. 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.
2. Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
3. 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):

1. 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.)
2. *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.