Tender.

Moist.

Cinnamon.

Cozy.

Pancakes.

Warm.

Greedy.

Mine.

Kick to the groin.

Mine.

Fight to the death.

Mine.

Mine.

Oh, sorry.  Just a little word association as I slowly seduce my glazed triangle of pumpkin goodness.

No joking.  These are straight up ridiculous.

And that maple glaze?

“Mmm…Smells like pancakes.”  My sister’s sniffer was firing on all cylinders that day.

Yes, my dear sibling.  It’s like a pancake plunged in a vat of maple syrup, removed after soaking for 5 minutes and then rolled up with a pumpkin cinnamon pastry inside.

Oh.  My.

You see, I never used to like scones.

Dry, crumbly and disappointing were all words I used to associate with them.

They really are confused if you think about it.  Not as soft as a cake, not as crisp as a cookie and not as flaky as a pastry.

Yet, they’re made somewhat like a pie crust, a biscuit and a cake.  I truly believe I just hadn’t experienced a good scone until now.

These comforting triangles are crumbly in a moist way with a tender flair that melts in your mouth.  Built on a foundation of cinnamon, pumpkin and maple, they command the essences of warmth and coziness.  A draping of maple sweetness locks in all the wonderful flavors and creates and decadent cap for a perfect pastry.

Let me show you what I mean:

Tender pastry = work tenderly with hands

Paint a picture of cinnamon and sugar.

Cut them so everyone gets an equal share.  5 for you and 1 for everyone else to share equally.

I’m a believer!  All scones.  All the time.

Maple Frosted Pumpkin ‘n Spice Scones

A perfect balance of spices and tenderness, these scones seem to mesmerize even the pickiest of pastry pickers.  A luscious dunking in a pool of maple glaze is the final stop for such moist pumpkin pieces.  Enjoy at any time of day for pure tummy comfort.

Ingredients

Scones

• 2 3/4 C flour
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1 T baking powder
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 C butter, cubed and cold
• 1/2 C cinnamon chips
• 2/3 C canned pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• milk and cinnamon sugar, for brushing and coating the pre-baked scones

Maple Icing

• 2 T butter, melted
• 1 C powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp maple extract
• 2 T heavy cream

Directions

1. Place flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Whisk to combine all ingredients.  
2. Use a pastry cutter to cut in cold butter.  Do not over mix.  You should see irregular chunks of butter throughout the mixture.
3. Hand mix the chips into the dough loosely.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk vanilla, eggs and pumpkin together.  Add this to the dry and stir with your hand until the flour mixture is just moistened.  Again, this may feel unusual because you want it to barely be mixed together.
5. Separate the dough into 2 round and slightly flattened patties about 3/4 in tall.  Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Brush each patty with milk and then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.  Slice each round cleanly into 6 triangles and then gently pull each triangle out of the circle slightly to create a 1/2 inch space between each triangle.
6. Place pan uncovered in freezer for 30 min.  Preheat oven to 425F.
7. Bake in oven for 22-25 min. until golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool completely then dip tops of each scone into a bowl with the glaze.  To prepare glaze, mix all ingredients together and whisk until uniform in consistency.  If you desire a thinner glaze, add more milk and if you desire a thicker one, add more powdered sugar (just beware that the mixture will become sweeter with more sugar). Enjoy!

Dough portion adapted from King Arthur Flour