I’m not sure when it happened but, for better or worse, every year new foods become pumpkin flavored during Autumn.
Pumpkin pie? Sure – I’ll eat that maybe once a year…unless there’s a better choice.
Pumpkin ravioli? Yeah – a small amount encased in pasta is fine… now and then.
BUT, Pumpkin Scones? Heck, yeah! I’ll have those anytime – especially with a maple drizzle.
Scones are super fast and easy to make – the less you mess with them, the more tender they are! So jump on board the pumpkin trend and try these delicious Pumpkin Scones!
Note: As self-proclaimed Queen of Freeze, I feel obliged to suggest (or nag) you freeze the unused pumpkin in portion sized amounts for future use. This recipe only requires 1/2 cup, so there’s plenty leftover from the can.
PUMPKIN SCONES – makes 8 scones
- 8½ oz (240 g) (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 oz (57 g) (1/3 cup) dark brown sugar
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cold butter
- 1 egg
- 118g (1/2 cup) canned pumpkin
- 38g (3 T) milk (any kind – I use nonfat)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- Maple Drizzle – recipe follows at the end
Preheat oven to 200°C (400ºF).
In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and add to dry ingredients. Cross-cut using 2 knives to break up butter into pea-sized pieces.
(If using the food processor, place butter with dry ingredients and pulse about 8 times – until the butter becomes pea-sized. Empty into a medium sized bowl.) 
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, pumpkin, milk, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently fold to mix.
Empty onto a well-floured counter and knead about 5 or 6 times. (I use a bench scraper to help since the dough is sticky.) 
With floured fingers, pat dough into an 8″ circle (try to keep the dough to an even thickness) and cut into 8 wedges.
Place on a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet (I prefer a dark sheet that’s greased.)
Bake at 400º F with the rack in the middle position for about 16 minutes. They’re at their best when they’re slightly dark on the bottom. 
The last time I baked them, I thought I overcooked them (see photo), but they were amazing – a slight crunch on the outside and perfect chew inside. So when you check them for doneness, look for slightly dark sides. 
Then remove from oven onto wire rack to completely cool before icing.
MAPLE GLAZE
- 1 T butter
- about 29g (1/3 cup) confectioners sugar
- 1/2 T maple syrup (use the pure syrup)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Melt butter. Stir in confectioners sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Blend well, smashing any sugar lumps. If icing is too thin, add more sugar; if too thick, add a little milk.
For easier control over the drizzle, pour icing into a spouted cup or a pastry bag with a small circle tip. Design as you wish.
Allow icing to harden before serving.
My introduction to Morovian Sugar Cake was a little bittersweet.
Add in 84g (6 T) butter and eggs. Process to blend.
With machine running, pour in the proofed yeast water. 
Add 400g (3½ cups) to processor and blend. Add flour 25g (¼ cup) at a time, processing after each, until dough starts pulling away from sides of the work bowl. Stop adding flour, and run machine another 30 seconds to knead the dough. Empty dough onto a floured surface and knead a few times to bring together. 
After dough has risen, create pockets with your fingertip, the handle of a wooden spoon, or something else that’s about 1/2″ diameter.
Sprinkle the sugar topping over the entire cake. Drizzle the remaining 84g (6 T) melted butter over all. 
Bake at 350º F for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. 
Cool at least 5 minutes before serving.
My mother used to love to buy lady’s club cookbooks. You know the ones – they’re made up of the members favorite recipes. Once I left home, she would buy them for me, too. This was years before the internet. Back then, we had to rely on cookbooks, magazines, and recipes passed on from friends and family.
Using a pastry brush, paint flour/butter thoroughly on bundt pan – getting into all the crevices. 
In an electric mixer, cream together 1/2 cup butter and granulated sugar for 3 minutes (don’t cut this time short).
Beat in eggs and vanilla. 
In a separate bowl, combine the 2 cups of flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
On low speed of mixer, beat in 1/2 of sour cream (don’t worry about being exact). 
Beat in 1/2 of flour mixture, then beat in remaining sour cream, followed by remaining flour. Stir in chocolate chips. (The picture below shows vanilla being added now – I forgot to add it earlier with the eggs.)
In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, powdered sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon. 
Spoon half of batter on bottom of bundt pan, gently spreading it out evenly. I find it easiest to scoop the batter into the bundt pan using a 3 T ice cream scoop, then gently spread the batter evenly around. 
Sprinkle on half of brown sugar mixture, then spoon on remaining batter, spreading it evenly. Finally, sprinkle on remaining brown sugar mixture. 
Bake at 350º F for 45-60 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean (it’s okay for there to be chocolate from the chips).
When done, remove from oven and let cake sit in pan for 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to completely cool. 
Sprinkle on powdered sugar, if desired.
Start swirling pan until butter is browned (turns reddish/amber) – it happens fast, so don’t leave unattended! (You may need to turn down the heat a bit or raise the pan off the flame.)
Immediately pour into large mixing bowl of your electric mixer. Add in the remaining 
Let melted butter cool at least 15 minutes. (You don’t want to melt the shortening.)
Add in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat on medium 2 minutes. Don’t shortchange the 2 minutes – it aerates the batter.
Add in the chips and pecans, and mix on low until they are evenly disbursed and all the flour is incorporated.
Line cookie sheets with parchment or grease. Use a 3 T ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup filling it 3/4 full. Drop dough onto cookie sheet, spacing them far apart – you should get no more than 9 per sheet.
Bake in a preheated 375º F oven 8-11 minutes. (Check at the 8 minute mark – they cook faster on a dark sheet.) You want the edges to look done, but not the center (unless you like crispier cookies). The cookies will continue to bake on the hot sheet.
Remove from oven and let set on the hot cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Slide onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
It’s tempting to eat them right away, but try and resist. The flavor improves as they cool and firm up.
There is a reason people say, “easy as pie”. Making a pie IS easy. Of course, making a great pie is as easy as making a bad one, so it’s important to have a great recipe.
Working quickly, peel and core the apples. Cut 3 of the apples into 1/8″ thick slices, and the other 3 a little thicker. Make sure they’re bite-sized for ease of eating – you don’t want long strips of apple. 
Add apples into the flour mixture and blend well. 
Pour into the cooled pie crust – there’s a lot of filling, so you’ll have to pile it high towards the middle. Make sure none of the apple pieces sit on the crust edge.
To prevent over-browning, cover the pie edge with foil or purchased pie edge protectors (see photo of what I use).
Bake at 375º for 25 minutes.
When the pie has cooked for 25 minutes, remove from oven. Evenly sprinkle on streusel and remove the edge protectors. Return pie to 375º F oven and bake another 20-25 minutes. Don’t let the top get too brown or it will make slicing difficult to cut through. 
Place pie on a rack or stovetop and drizzle on the caramel topping. Let set at least 1 hour, preferably longer, or you’ll have a lava flow when you slice it.
Being the loving husband his is, my friend, George, was whipping up a batch of fat-free blueberry muffins for his wife, Kathy, while we were visiting. I was curious about his recipe and what was used instead of the fat.
In a larger bowl combine whites, milk, zest, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low, a hand-crank egg beater, or whisk until bubbles form on top – it takes about 30 seconds. 
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and gently combine, until most of the flour is incorporated. Don’t overmix or you’ll get tough muffins. 
Add in the blueberries and fold in, just to combine. (Frozen blueberries – which I use – tend to bleed.)
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, dividing batter equally. (An ice cream scooper is perfect for this.) Sprinkle about 1 tsp of sugar onto each. 
Bake in preheated 400º F oven for about 16 minutes, rotating them halfway through to cook evenly. They should be firm with slightly browned edges.
Remove from oven and let set in tin about 2 minutes. To remove, run a rounded knife around sides, then start pushing in around the bottom with the knife to help release the muffin. 
Set muffins on a wire rack to cool a bit before eating.
When it comes to lemon desserts, I want to know I’m eating lemon! No faint hint of flavor for me – bring it on!!!
In a small bowl, combine the zest with 3 T lemon juice. Let set 15 minutes.
Combine the 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 
In a small bowl, lightly beat together the eggs and yolk.
Pour approximately half of the eggs into the butter/sugar, and beat until just incorporated. Pour in the rest of the eggs and beat in. 
Combine the buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon zest/lemon juice. 
On low speed, beat approximately 1/3 of the flour mixture into the batter just until incorporated. Add in 1/2 of the liquid mixture and beat in. Beat in 1/2 of the flour mixture, then the remaining liquid. Finally, beat in the last of the flour mix. Don’t overmix – beat until flour has been incorporated and no loose flour shows. 
Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. (I cover the hole to prevent spillage – just be sure to remove it before baking – I speak from experience.) Smooth batter.
Bake about 45 minutes at 350º F. Check for doneness with a toothpick. Remove from oven and let set in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. 
While cake is still in the pan, make the glaze. To make glaze, sift powdered sugar to remove lumps. Stir the sugar with 1 T milk or buttermilk, and 2 T lemon juice. You want the glaze to pour, but not so thin it runs off the cake. Adjust thickness of glaze by adding more sugar to thicken or more lemon juice to thin out.
Every now and then, even a die-hard chocoholic such as myself craves a little tang.
Grease an 8″ x 8″ pan (I use Pyrex) and pour in the crumbs. Pat firmly down on pan bottom only, as evenly as possible. To make the edges nice and compact, use a spoon to press down along sides. 
Bake in 325º F oven until lightly browned – 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow crust to cool about 15 minutes.
Whisk in the condensed milk and yolk. 
Pour mixture into cooled crust and bake in 325º oven for 15 minutes. 
Remove from oven and let cool on stovetop at least an hour. Then place in refrigerator a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Over medium heat, bring to simmer. Cook until raspberries break down – about 10-15 minutes, stirring often. 
Strain out the solids by placing a sieve over a bowl and pouring in the raspberry mixture. Use a spoon to press out all of the juice. 
Chill the juice in the refrigerator to thicken. (You can use the remaining solids in yogurt or cereal.) Place the thickened sauce in a piping bag and drizzle onto the chilled Lime Bars.
Cranberry Tart is a beautiful dessert that can be served year-round. But I thought it particularly appropriate for Valentine’s Day…even though the only chocolate in it is the white chocolate I sprinkled on top (which doesn’t really count).
Add in softened butter and almond extract. Pulse until mixture clumps together. 
Place a 9″ tart pan on a cookie sheet – this is important since tart pans have a removable bottom and you don’t want to accidentally push it up when you lift the filled tart. (You don’t need the cookie sheet if you’re using a regular pie plate.) Scatter pieces of the dough around the tart pan (or regular 9″ pie pan), putting more near the edges. 
With fingers, press down the dough starting with the sides so it evenly covers the sides all the way up the top, and the bottom of the pan. Pay special attention to the corners – push them in so you have a nice sharp inside edge with more room for the filling.
Place a piece of waxed paper over crust and fill with pie weights, uncooked beans, or rice. Bake in 
In another saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, salt, pomegranate juice, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil and cook until the cranberries start to pop – about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. 
Note: Possible suggestion (although I haven’t tried this): To eliminate the above step of separately boiling the beet, try quartering the peeled beet (so you can find them easier), and add them to the cranberries before boiling. Then remove the 4 beet pieces before running the cranberries through the food mill.
Beat the whole eggs and yolks together in a small bowl, then slowly whisk into the cranberry mixture. Add beet juice (if using).
Clean out the saucepan you used for cooking the cranberries. Pour the filling through a strainer (to remove any bits from the egg and/or cranberries) into the empty saucepan. This takes some time since it’s thick! You don’t HAVE to do this step, but the curd is silkier if you remove the bits. You can see what would have been left in the curd if I hadn’t strained.
Over medium heat, cook until thickened, stirring often – about 5 minutes.
When oven is preheated, pour filling into cooled crust. (Make sure tart pan is still sitting on a cookie sheet – you really don’t want to chance pushing up on the bottom!)
While tart is still hot, remove tart pan side by very carefully scooting the tart pan from the cookie sheet onto a wide can or bowl. (Make sure the diameter of the bowl is smaller than the tart pan opening.) Gently press down on tart pan edge and it should fall right down. Don’t move the tart yet – let it completely cool before moving it. 
Once tart is completely cooled, remove tart pan base – it may crack if it’s still warm. To remove base, run a thin, long implement (or maybe unflavored dental floss – I haven’t tried that, though) between crust and tart pan bottom. Carefully, nudge tart onto a serving plate.
When I harken back to Christmases past, one thing that stands out is the English Toffee Bars my best friend’s mother made every year. Besides my mom’s fudge, English Toffee Bars were a favorite.
Add the yolk, vanilla, and salt. Beat 1 minute. 
Add the flour and mix on low speed, just until flour is incorporated. 
Place dough on a piece of parchment paper, and pat it out to 11.5″ x 11.5″, trying your best to keep it of even height.
Slide parchment on onto a rimless cookie sheet. Place in preheated 375º F oven. Bake 11-14 minutes, rotating once, until browned. Remove from oven. 
Immediately, top hot dough with chocolate bar pieces and let sit for 2-3 minutes , until chocolate softens.
Spread chocolate. 
Sprinkle with toasted nuts, pressing very lightly so nuts adhere to chocolate.
Cool bar on cookie sheet about 20 minutes so it sets. Slide parchment onto counter. Slice off uncoated edges, then cut slab into squares while still soft (if you wait until they’re hard, they’ll break when cut). Once bars are completely cool, refrigerate to firm up.
Vegetarian Cooking For Carnivores BLOG 