Harvest Pumpkin Scones

These went over well at school today, a hit with the staff, and a big hit with my little Lauren!

2 ¾ cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground allspice
½ cup cold butter
1 cup cinnamon chips or chocolate chips
⅔ cup pumpkin purée
2 large eggs
cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)
coarse white sparkling sugar on top (optional)

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices.

2. Work in butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it's okay for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated.

3. Stir in chips.

4. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin purée and eggs until smooth.

5. Add the pumpkin/egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until all is moistened and holds together.

6. Line a baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle with flour to allow the scones to come off easily after baking.

7. Scrape the dough onto the floured parchment or pan, and divide it in half.  Round each into a 5" circle; circle should be about ¾" thick.

8. Brush each circle with milk, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mix, and/or coarse white sparkling sugar, if desired.

9. Using a knife that you run through cold water, slice each circle into 8 wedges.

10. Carefully pull the wedges away from the center to separate them just a bit, about ½" space between them.

11. For the best texture and highest rise, place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered.  While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425°.

12. Bake scones for 22-25 minutes, or until they're golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean, with no wet crumbs.

13. Remove the scones from the oven, and serve warm.  Wrap leftovers airtight and store at room temperature.  Reheat briefly in microwave if desired.

Yields 16 scones.

These go best with:
Milk!  Lauren loved hers with milk, but they would also be great paired with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate!

I'm giving these 4 out of 5 pumpkins.  They're a nice autumn morning treat, but for some reason they make me feel like they are missing something.