Today, I wasn't planning on baking. But then, I had an idea. And sometimes an idea sounds so good that you have to immediately act upon it. This was one of those times. So I went to the kitchen to bake these Fluffy Pumpkin Spice Swirl Scones.
Scones are a classic breakfast goodie that is not always that good. They can be dense, tough, dry and crumbly. This happens for a lot of reasons. Its mostly caused by over working the dough. But. it is also because scones simply do not stay fresh for very long. Which is why, when I get a hankering for a scone, I bake them!
These Fluffy Pumpkin Spice Swirl Scones are tender, light and fluffy thanks to plenty of Earth Balance. And they are layered with a sweet spice filling which keeps layers of tender scone separate.
Tips for Fluffy + Tender Scones
The key to creating a fluffy + tender scone starts with cutting the butter into the dry ingredients. Ideally, the butter is cut into the dries until its a little coarser than coarse meal and a little smaller than pea-sized. Take a peak at the reference photos for what this stage looks like. And just come as close to that as you can. My favorite tool to use for cutting the butter in is my hands!
After the butter is cut into the dough, add the wet ingredients. The main liquid in this recipe is pumpkin purée. It adds flavor and just enough moisture to hold the scones together. Again, I use my hands for this. I gently fold everything with my hands just until everything is moistened and the dough comes together.
Pumpkin Spice Swirl
I wanted to add a swirl to these scones. It gives them a ton of pumpkin spice flavor and a fun texture. The scone dough is gently patted out, then topped with pumpkin spice sugar and then rolled up like a cinnamon roll. Then the dough gently patted back out again to be cut. This creates a delightful spiced swirl throughout the scones which makes them sweet enough to not require a glaze.
A bit of the sugar-y filling will leak out of the scones at they bake, but the majority of the pumpkin spice sugar will bake into the scones making each bite of these Fluffy Pumpkin Spice Swirl Scones sweet, pumpkin spice heaven. And for breakfast, no less!
Pumpkin Spice Swirl Scones
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoon Cold Non-Dairy Butter, cut into approx. ¼ inch cubes Be sure to use one that comes in stick form!
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- ⅓ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
- ¾ Cup Pumpkin Puree Not Pumpkin Pie Filling!
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 teaspoon Molasses
For the Spice Filling
- ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Molasses
- 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 425* F. Line a baking tray with parchment.
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the Spice filling with a spoon, Set aside.
- In another small bowl, combine pumpkin, lemon juice, molasses and vanilla.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Add the cubed non-dairy butter into the dry mixture and work the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is a little smaller than pea sized, and a little larger than coarse meal. See photos above for reference.
- Add the pumpkin mixture into the bowl with the flour and butter mixture. Gently fold together just until everything is moistened and a shaggy dough forms. (see reference photo)
- Turn the scone dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat into a 10x6 rectangle with the longer side toward you.
- Spread the spiced sugar mixture evenly across the top of the dough, then roll the dough toward you like a cinnamon roll.
- Be sure the seam is on the bottom, then gently pat the log into a 10x6 rectangle.
- Cut the rectangle in half longways, then into 4 pieces across. You should have 8 scones.
- Place the scones onto the parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a 425* oven for 18-20 minutes. The scones should be golden brown all the way across the bottoms.
- Serve warm and freeze the leftovers to heat up in the oven or toaster oven.
Let me know how this recipe works for you!
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