High in Vitamin A and dietary fiber, pumpkin makes a great addition to many recipes. With the use of canned pumpkin, it becomes possible to enjoy this lightly sweet taste all year round. Adding some pumpkin to scones, makes for a wonderfully different taste, reminiscent of cool mornings, and changing leaves.
Pumpkins in Cooking
Pumpkins are gourd like squashes with a thick outer shell, containing their pulp and seeds. This versatile squash can be baked, steamed, boiled, mashed and pureed, adding its distinctive flavor to any dish. Pumpkins are high in Vitamins A and C, and nearly the entire squash is edible, from its flower to its seeds.
While canned pumpkin is available year round, fresh pumpkins can be easily cooked and added to many dishes during the fall and early winter months. To cook a pumpkin, slice it in half vertically, and remove its seeds and stem. Bake the pumpkin cut sides down in a shallow dish covered in foil at 375 degrees for approximately 1-1/2 hours, or until tender. Peel and slice the cooked pumpkin, and place the slices in a blender or food processor, to puree before adding to baked goods recipes. Slicing the baked pumpkin into chunks makes for a great addition to soups, casseroles and other dishes as well.
When blending the pumpkin for use in puree, be sure to blend long enough to remove all chunks; adding a small amount of water may aid in this process.
Scones
While the origins of scones are unclear, most historians agree that this traditionally unleavened, “quick bread” most likely originated in Scotland. The first scones were large, flat round loaves, approximately the size of dinner plates. Originally made from oats, today’s scones are typically made with white flour, with baking powder added as a leavening agent.
Scones baked at home can appear in many shapes, including triangles, circles or squares, and can accommodate many different fillings, additives and recipe variations. Adding pumpkin to bread makes for a slightly sweet, spicy scone that can be enjoyed at breakfast with coffee, or as an after dinner desert when served with clotted cream.
Pumpkin Scone Recipe
Makes 8 Scones
Ingredients
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/3 Cup Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ Cup of Pureed or Canned Pumpkin
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice or 1/3 Teaspoon each of Allspice, Nutmeg and Cinnamon
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl
- Gradually cut in firm butter, directly from refrigerator and mix until a coarse, meal like texture is established
- In a small bowl, mix together the egg and pumpkin until smooth, and then add to the dry mixture, slowly, mixing the entire time until large, dough like clumps begin to form
- Continue mixing with hands until the dough sticks together – it may be dry at first, and sticky in places, but if mixed long enough it will come together
- Spread the dough on a lightly floured surface until ¾ inch thick and using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 triangles
- Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet and set on a middle rack in the preheated oven
- Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until golden brown
- Cool for approximately 5 minutes, before serving still warm
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