Starbucks Inspired Pumpkin Scones

My husband doesn't have many things he loves to eat, but Pumpkin Scones is one of those things that he truly enjoys. I had about a cup of leftover pumpkin after making my pumpkin pie so I decided to give these scones a try. The recipe I found was on Recipe Zaar - a pretty good resource for restaurant copycat recipes.
Overall I think this recipe is good. I didn't have half and half on hand, but I had plenty of cream and milk. So, I used half milk, half cream in place of the half and half. I had a little trouble getting the dough to come together therefore I added more milk to the mix. I also decided to make a double batch so that I could flash freeze most of them and make only a handful for us to snack on. Because my husband works from home, I thought it'd be nice to have frozen scones in the freezer, ready for him to thaw for 30 minutes and bake for about 15. If you wish to freeze your scones, freeze unbaked scones on a cookie sheet or cutting board, then place into a freezer-grade ziploc bag.

Although I will post the full recipe here, I didn't make the icing at all. I attempted the simple powdered sugar glaze, but the ratio of powdered sugar to milk which I used was off. Next time, I'll give the icings a try.

Ingredients for a SINGLE BATCH of Pumpkin Scones (approximately 6 scones)

SCONES

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 7 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 6 tbsp cold butter
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 tbsp half-and-half
• 1 large egg

POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk

SPICED GLAZE

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ground ginger
• 1 pinch ground cloves

Directions:

TO MAKE THE SCONES:.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.
4. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough.
5. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 14–16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

TO MAKE THE PLAIN GLAZE:.

1. Mix the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk together until smooth.
2. When scones are cool, use a brush to paint plain glaze over the top of each scone.

AS THAT WHITE GLAZE FIRMS UP, MAKE THE SPICED ICING:.

1. Combine the ingredient for the spiced icing together. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.