Pumpkin Pecan Scones with Maple Glaze

I find it amazing how a perfectly blank calendar month can fill up so fast. October is two-thirds over and I haven’t even posted one recipe to celebrate autumn yet!

I hear from the food blogosphere that people are already getting tired of pumpkin recipes. What?!! Really? Apparently, I’m missing all of them because, barring my premature pumpkin peach ice cream, I haven’t even gotten started with the pumpkin recipes… Well, until this weekend.

My mom hosted a Market at the Farm Sale and asked me to make scones for it. I knew I wanted to make one variety with pumpkin for a “fall-in-the-air kind of sale” and when I found Denise’s recipe over at Chez Us using cardamom I decided I had to give it a try.

I made several changes to her recipe, but the idea is the same. I have to tell you, these scones are SO GOOD!

• 1 1/2 c. white flour
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. nutmeg
• 1 t. cardamom (freshly ground is best)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 8 T. butter
• 1/2 c. chopped pecans
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. cooked pumpkin

Mix the dry ingredients together. Cut in cold butter. Add nuts and stir to combine.

Mix together pumpkin and egg with a fork. I didn’t puree the fresh pumpkin, just mashed it with a fork. I love the strands of orange color this produced. Add to dry ingredients and stir together.

Pour out onto a floured surface and knead just enough to combine everything together. Pat into a disk about 1 inch thick and cut into 8 wedges.

At this point you can freeze the scones on a paper lined cookie sheet, transfer to a plastic bag and store in the freezer until ready to bake. It’s so easy to pop the frozen scones on a cookie sheet and into the oven when ever the mood hits. Bake at 350 for 27-29 minutes in this case.

If you want a scone right away, heat the oven to 425 and bake for 12-14 minutes.

Glaze

1/2 c. Powdered sugar

maple syrup

I didn’t measure for this one, but really it’s all about what consistency you like for your glaze. Just add a tablespoon or two of maple syrup to the powdered sugar and stir until you like the way it looks and feels. Drizzle over warm scones.

The orange glaze I put on the Cranberry Almond Scones would be really good on these too. That’s just powdered sugar and fresh orange juice. Add a few drops of orange extract if you want more intense orange flavor. I almost always want more intense orange flavor, though I did find one exception the other day – Dark Chocolate Orange Lindor truffles are just too orange!

It was cold the morning of the sale making it the perfect morning to enjoy a warm scone and one of Caleb’s specialty espresso drinks! Wish you all could have been there!

Roasted Pears with Maple Whipped Cream and Pecans

We’ve had a warm autumn this last week or so. The Oklahoma wind is blowing away with it’s usual gusto, bringing brightly colored leaves (or brown ones as the case may be) spiraling to the ground in a nearly horizontal direction.

In the next minute or so, the wind will whip around from the North and arrange icicles on the trees that are still sporting green. You never know. That’s just how it is here.

It’s rather hard to adjust to the moodiness of Great Plains weather for this Okie girl. When the calendar says Autumn, I want Autumn – and the whole shebang that goes along with it! One can’t wear long sleeves and fleece vests and boots in 90 degree weather. Nor can one stir up delicious, satisfying soups to the heart’s content. I guess Fall will have to wait for Winter to make an entrance for the party to really begin…

In the mean time, I can make things like this –

Roasted Pears with Maple Whipped Cream and Buttery Maple toasted Pecans. That should show Autumn what it’s all about now!

I had some organic Asian Pears in a bowl on the counter that were talking to me every time I walked by them.

“You know Sarah, you haven’t baked pears in a while…hint, hint…Perhaps you’ve noticed, but we aren’t getting any younger over here.”

So true! Who knew pears could spark an epiphany!

I splurged at the grocery store yesterday and bought a melon baller for this batch. I’ve wanted one for a while and I really don’t know what took me so long to buy one – it was only $1.29 and it works like a dream.

You can peel your pears if you like, of course, but since these were organic (i.e. my excuse for being lazy) I left the peels. Besides, aesthetically speaking, peels are prettier. If texture is your concern, by all means throw aesthetics out the window!

Brush the pears with butter or coconut oil, just to coat.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake @ 375 for 45 minutes, or until soft.

While the pears are roasting….

Whipped Cream 

1 c. cream

1-2 T. maple syrup

splash of vanilla (optional)

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Add syrup and vanilla. Beat to combine.

I used fresh cream delivered by our milk man (we are so spoiled!), which takes some careful watching! The time that it takes for raw whipped cream to become butter is, like, nanoseconds.

Buttered Maple Pecans

1 c. chopped pecans

1 T. butter

1-2 T. maple syrup

dash of salt

Melt butter and maple syrup. Add pecans and salt and cook over low heat until toasty. Remove from heat and let cool.

Dollop a spoonful of whipped cream on a small dessert dish, top with half a pear and sprinkle with pecans. Viola! It’s fast, easy and healthy!

What is your favorite dish that just says “Autumn” all over?

Autumn – Homemade Cardamom Marshmallows

Chain saws whir as dead trees fall to the ground and the woodpile grows. The scent of wood smoke and diesel exhaust from the tractor wafts in the air and leaves flutter to the ground, encouraged by the crisp, northerly …