Mother's Day Brunch Pt. 1

I have a growing list of things I have recently made and fully intend to post, and before yesterday, this wasn't one of them! These scones were the result of my waking up early and fretting about how my quiche(s) would be received. I figured if no one liked the quiche, at least these would be there to save the day. I needn't have worried, but they turned out well, all 6 were eaten and they were quick to throw together with fairly minimal ingredients. Not only was everything well received, Luke really liked the scones, so I made a second batch just for him when we got home.

Most of the time when I am looking for a new recipe, instead of looking through my shelf full of cookbooks, I head to the internet knowing there are only 1,000,000 times more options out here than there are in my library. I often end up choosing things from Chow's forums. I really enjoy a good pumpkin scone, but didn't want one of the Starbuck's knockoffs. I settled upon one from Joy of Baking but I tweaked it a little. Theirs calls for both nuts and raisins, which are both tasty, but none of my eaters like them. It also calls for an egg wash and a dusting of coarse sugar. I thought a glaze with a little cinnamon and fresh grated nutmeg would be prettier, so I went with that. Next time, I might brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon before baking.

Pumpkin Scones
(400* for 20 mins.
serves 6)

2 cups flour (I used bread flour because I was low on all purpose)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
1/3 cup buttermilk (I use powdered and water)
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400* and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. In a smaller bowl combine pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla. Grate the stick of cold butter into the dry ingredients and blend with a pair of forks or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add wet ingredients and stir until combined. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times before shaping it into a disk about 7" around and 1 1/2" high. With a chef's knife or bench scraper divide into sixths and place on baking sheet. Place in oven and bake 20 mins. They will be puffed and just beginning to turn golden. After removing them from the oven, place them on a cooling rack and allow to cool, glazing if desired.

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 T. milk or cream
pinch nutmeg
pinch cinnamon

Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix until it forms a thick icing. Spoon over cooled scones and allow to set slightly.