Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze #BloggerCLUE

Rumored to be just like the ones from a well-known coffee chain, these beautifully spiced pumpkin scones with spiced glaze are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. 

If you’ve been reading along here for a while you’ve already heard me say how much I’ve enjoyed getting to know fellow bloggers during the last three years of public blogging. I sincerely wish I had time to read and comment on every blog that I love every time there is a new post, but that wouldn’t leave any time for my own cooking and writing and other fun stuff, so something’s got to give. I do try to get around to them as often as I can. But what if reading another blog was part of a group assignment? Well, I’d have to do that, right?! Have you guessed already that I have joined another bloggers group to justify my blog reading obsession? You are so smart.

Bloggers C.L.U.E. Society
This one’s called Bloggers C.L.U.E. Society and the premise is that we are matched up with another food blogger each month and we need search his or her blog for a recipe to fit that month’s theme. And make it. We’ll introduce ourselves and our readers to each other with each post, until perhaps someday, we’ve made a recipe from and gotten to know every blogger in the group.

This is our inaugural Bloggers C.L.U.E. post. I was assigned Bakeaway With Me and our theme is Thanksgiving. As I browsed through Kathy’s blog, I had to put on my detective cap to figure out more about her since her profile doesn't reveal anything. Hunting for clues was part of the fun though! I discovered that she is married to a man with Dutch heritage and they live with their children in New Jersey. Her mother’s family is of Lebanese descent and her father’s family came over from Hungary, so she has a fabulous and eclectic mixture of ethnic recipes on her blog, as well as a bunch from another group she participates in called French Fridays with Dorie. Deciding on just one recipe to try was going to be a challenge!

Since our theme is Thanksgiving, I finally settled on one that I know my daughters will love. I’m not much of a sweet eater but I must confess that I took my usual taste test bite from one scone and ended up eating it all. I’ve never had the real thing from Starbucks so I can’t compare but, boy, are these good! I’ve decided that they are going to be breakfast for Christmas morning. (My girls won't be home for Thanksgiving, more's the pity!) Kathy says that they freeze well, so I tested that statement and can report that she is telling the absolute truth. I glazed them and froze them in a single layer and they thawed beautifully, looking and tasting just like fresh baked. Which will make Christmas morning even easier.

Here’s Kathy’s recipe. Hope you love it as much as I did! I’ve added the metric measures for those of you who prefer to use a scale for baking.

Pumpkin Scones (Starbucks Copycat)

Yield: 8 scones
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 15 min
adapted from Todd Wilbur

Ingredients
For the scones:
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
1/3 cup, packed, or 65g brown sugar,
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 115g unsalted COLD butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup or 120g pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
3 tablespoons milk or cream
1 large egg
2 tablespoons maple syrup

For the spiced glaze:
1 cup or 125g confectioners' or icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons milk

Method
Preheat oven to 425°F or 220°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt.

Add cold butter, and using a pastry blender, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. You want to see some very small pieces of the butter.

In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, cream, egg and maple syrup.

Pour mixture over the dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until a soft dough forms.

Working on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a few times until it comes together.  With lightly floured hands, pat the dough into a rectangle measuring roughly 7x9 inches or 18x23cm. (I patted with my hands then used my rolling pin to just lightly stretch the dough to the right size.)

Using a large knife or a pizza cutter, cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut into 2 even pieces crosswise, making four rectangles. Then cut each rectangle into two triangles, making 8 triangles.

Place scones onto prepared baking sheet. Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

To make the spiced glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and milk. Whisk until smooth.

When the scones are done, cool for 10 minutes, then drizzle the glaze over each scone, and spread with back of spoon.

Allow glaze to set before serving.

These scones freeze beautifully.  So save some for later!

Enjoy!

Just look at the gorgeous inside! I can't even express how GOOD these are!

Here are a few links in case you'd like to join me in connecting with Kathy and Bakeaway with Me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

I’m pleased to introduce you to more of my fellow Blogger C.L.U.E. Society members:

• Arugula Salad With Baked Goat Cheese And Rosemary Honey by Aly from Cooking in Stilettos 
• Black Walnut Cake by Christy from Culinary Diva 
• Cauliflower with Garlic and Sage by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch 
• Chicken Curry by Christiane from Taking On Magazines
• Crispy Tandoori Smashed Potatoes by Janet from From Cupcakes to Caviar 
• Honey Glazed Carrots with Cherries by Kelli from Kelli's Kitchen 
• Lemony Cheese Risotto by Debra from Eliots Eats 
• Lisa's Brussels Sprouts by Kate from Kate's Kitchen
• Onion Biscuits by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet 
• Orange Fluff Jello Salad by Ramona from Curry and Comfort 
• Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
• Pumpkin Spice Cake by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
• Pumpkin Spice Spiked Latte by Kathy from Bakeaway With Me 
• Roasted or Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro and Lime by Kim from Liv Life 
• Spicy Cheesy Bacon Ranch Muffins by Anna from Anna Dishes 
• Spinach Soufflé by Susan from Create Amazing Meals
• Susu’s Grand Marnier Orange Cranberry Sauce by Alice from A Mama Baby and Shar-pei in the Kitchen 
• Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake

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Soft and Tender Dinner Rolls #BreadBakers

If there is any bread more delicious than a soft and tender white dinner roll, brushed with melted butter, I’d like to meet it. Because I don’t think there is one.

My grandmother was a fabulous cook – actually, they both were – but in this instance I’m talking about my maternal grandmother. Thanksgiving and Christmas were usually celebrated at her house and she put on quite the spread. I honestly don’t remember if she baked them every time, but I remember eating those soft white bread rolls that came in the foil (or was it some sort of weird cardboard?) pan, ready to bake. And they were wonderful. Not too yeasty that a child might object, brushed with butter and so soft and smushy that you could make a dough ball out of them, perfect for nibbling as you waited your turn to fill your plate with the other beautiful dishes. Those rolls were what I was hoping to recreate here for our Bread Bakers Thanksgiving event, where we have been challenged by our talented host, Holly of A Baker’s House, to bake bread fit for a special occasion.

I started with this recipe from All Things Delicious and made a few alterations to the ingredients and the method but I followed Hannah’s instructions for making the dough into classic round dinner rolls. (She shows several different ways of shaping the dough into special rolls so make sure to go have a look if you need some ideas.)  I have no idea if my Red Star yeast was more active than whatever was used in the original recipe, but I ended up with monster rolls. Beautiful, soft and tender but so big! Next time I will roll them half the size to get the rolls of my childhood memories. But I will definitely be baking these again.

If you are looking for a special bread to bake for your holiday table, make sure to scroll on down to see the list of 21 recipes we are sharing today. Many thanks to Holly for hosting!

Ingredients
2 cups or 475ml milk
1/3 cup or 80g butter
1/4 oz or 7g yeast (one sachet – I used Red Star Quick Rise Yeast.)
1 egg
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
2 teaspoons salt
5 cups or 625g flour, plus extra for kneading and sprinkling on before baking

1/8 cup or 30g melted butter for brushing on after the rolls are baked

Method
Put the milk in a large microwaveable vessel (I use the biggest silicone measuring cup* from this set. It was a gift from my cousin years ago and I love it!) and add in the butter. Microwave until the butter is mostly melted, about 3-4 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes.

Put the yeast in your mixing bowl and pour in about a cup or 240ml (no need to measure exactly) of the warm milk/butter mixture and set aside for about 10 minutes. You are hoping that the yeast activates and gets all bubbly. If it doesn’t, you need to buy some fresh yeast and start over.

Now add in 3 cups or 375g of flour, the egg and the salt to your mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until all of the flour is incorporated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to mix in any flour left there. It’s a very runny batter at this point.

You can see the bubbly yeast/butter/milk there on the left. That's what it should look like!

Continue mixing and add the remaining flour by spoonfuls until all is incorporated. Now it should be wet and soft sticky dough but that’s what is needed for soft and tender rolls.

Now mix for 3-4 minutes, changing to the dough hook, if necessary, to help develop the gluten.

The finished dough

Cover the bowl with cling film and allow the dough to rise for about an hour or until it doubles in size.

Meanwhile, line your baking pan with parchment paper, a silicone mat or grease it liberally with oil or butter.

Once the first rise is done, punch the dough down and knead it briefly on a floured surface. Cut the dough ball into halves, then cut the halves into half again. Cut each piece into three to make very large bread rolls, or six to make more reasonably sized ones.

Roll the dough pieces into balls, pinching them from underneath to stretch the tops so they are nice and round. Put the balls, side by side, pinched side down, in your prepared baking pan.

Sprinkle the tops of the rolls with flour and put the whole baking pan in a clean, new garbage bag, capturing some air before you clip it shut, so that the bag doesn’t touch the top of the bread rolls. Allow the rolls to rise for about an hour.

About 15 minutes (or however long your oven takes) before the second rise is completed, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Bake the dinner rolls in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden brown all over.

Brush with melted butter and serve warm, if possible.

Enjoy!

Tender, soft and fluffy. Just as a dinner roll should be. 

Our celebratory breads, for your enjoyment!

• Brown Butter Sage Biscuits by Sophia at Sweet Cinnamon & Honey 
• Butterflake Rolls by Anshie at Spice Roots 
• Buttermilk Rolls by Renee at Magnolia Days 
• Cast Iron Parker House Rolls by Veronica at My Catholic Kitchen 
• Cheese & Mustard Pull Apart Bread by Laura at Baking in Pyjamas 
• Classic Anise Dinner Rolls by Kathya at Basic N Delicious 
• Gruyère Gougères by Nicole at The 2nd 35 Years 
• No Knead Dinner Rolls by Heather at Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks 
• Parker House Rolls by Tara at Noshing With The Nolands 
• Parmesan Garlic Knots by Lauren at From Gate to Plate 
• Pumpkin and Rosemary Bread by Rocío at kids&chic 
• Pumpkin Pani Popo by Kelly at Passion Kneaded 
• Pumpkin, Sage & Cheddar Pull Apart Rolls by Mireille at Chef Mireille's East West Realm 
• Overnight Rosemary Rolls by Holly at A Baker’s House 
• Skillet Cornbread by Sandra at Meadows Cooks 
• Soft and Tender Dinner Rolls by Stacy at Food Lust People Love 
• Sourdough Cornbread Rolls with Sage by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories 
• Sweet Potato Rolls by Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings 
• Tomato Herb Loaves by Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Zopf - Braided Swiss Milk Bread by Carola at En la Cocina de Caro

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

*This is an Amazon affiliate link. 

Almond Cherry Muffins #MuffinMonday

Toasted almonds, ground almonds and almond liqueur complement the dried cherries perfectly in this tender muffin. Superb for breakfast or teatime. 

I was thinking the other day, as I made the chocolate shot cookies, that they would also be great with almond flour, for a sort of almond shortbread. Or maybe I could substitute coconut for the oatmeal and roll them in some toasted coconut. All of these things may happen one day but meanwhile, it’s Muffin Monday so I decided to take the first idea and muffin with it. You know, like “run with it” but in a muffinly way. At the suggestion of my friend and fellow blogger, Ishita, I celebrated the fact that I now have a liquor license, which permits me to buy alcohol in Dubai, and added a little Amaretto! I also added dried cherries because almond and cherry is a classic combination and when you are making up new verbs and celebrating being 18 again at the age of 51, you have to show that you aren’t a completely crazy renegade or no one will take you seriously. That’s a fact.

Despite the expiration date, I just got the card. It seems the date starts
from your application, even if it takes them more than a month to process. 

I used this recipe from King Arthur Flour as my jumping off place.

Ingredients
1 cup or 200g granulated sugar
1 cup or 125g flour
1 cup or 100g ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon Amaretto or almond liqueur
1 cup or 140g dried cherries
1 cup or 75g shaved almonds, lightly toasted

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and either grease your 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper liners.  (I use paper liners but give the whole thing a quick spray with Pam so that any drips will clean off easily.)

In one big mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients: flour, ground almonds, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In another small bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, oil and liqueur.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until just combined.

There should still be some dry flour showing. Take out a good handful of the cherries and the toasted almonds and set them aside for decorating the muffin tops. Fold the rest of the cherries and almonds into the batter.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups.

Top each with some of the reserved toasted almonds and poke a piece or two of dried cherries into the batter.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Remove from the muffin pan and finish cooling on a rack.

Enjoy! Have you muffined anything lately?

P.S. I have two giveaways ending shortly. The great Cookie Week baking package including baking ingredients, equipment and four cookbooks ends at Midnight New York time today!

And the Food Truck Road Trip - a Cookbook giveaway ends at Midnight New York time on Tuesday, that is to say tomorrow.

Don't miss your chance to enter and win!