Pumpkin Scones

This is supposed to be an imitation recipe for the ones they serve at Starbucks. But they are far superior.

I tweaked things a bit, which may have been necessary because I was doubling the recipe, but which I think, ultimately, actually made the scones a little moister. The dough was a bit on the dry side when I mixed up all the ingredients, so I added a little more pumpkin and half-and-half. I also cut the scones in half once I cut them out since I didn't want to have to always commit to a huge scone. Didn't really do much good since they were so good I wanted to eat multiple scones. I will, no doubt, be making these over and over again.

Edited to add (10/10/12): I tried these with 1 cup cinnamon chips and just the powdered sugar glaze, and they were wonderful. Yum, yum, yum.

Pumpkin Scones
A variation on this recipe from Food.com



Scones:
4 cups all-purpose flour
14 tablespoons (7/8 cup) sugar
2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter
1 can pumpkin
6-8 tablespoons half-and-half
2 large eggs

Powdered Sugar Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
3 tablespoons whole milk

Spiced Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
3 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch ground cloves

TO MAKE THE SCONES:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

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.

In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

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 horizontally twice, making three equal portions. Then cut the dough vertically 3 times, making 12 equal squares. Cut each square in half diagonally and then each half diagonally again. 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:
Mix the powdered sugar and milk together until smooth.

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:
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).