As I mentioned earlier, I've been blessed with the Season of Pumpkins this fall. As a result, baked pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin cream cheese muffins and more have graced my table. I'm particularly fond of baking with pumpkin that I've roasted myself. While that usually means bars or muffins, sometimes I try something a little new. That's how my pumpkin chocolate chunk scones were born.
Scones are a fun blend of muffins and biscuits. They tend to have a blend of ingredients more associated with muffins, but the dough used to make them tends to be similar to biscuits and you roll or press them out like biscuits. Some people even cut their scones into the familiar round shape associated with biscuits, but I prefer to shape the dough into a large circle and cut 6-12 wedges out of the dough for baking. That's what I did this time around and it was a roaring success. And here's a little secret about my chocolate chunks: I just chopped up leftover chocolate candy into appropriately-sized chunks. I tend to watch for after-holiday candy sales (Easter, Halloween and Christmas all provide great opportunities) and stock up on things that I can use in baking or even decorating. You could, of course, purchase chocolate chunks or even chocolate chips, but I'm all about saving a little more by planning ahead.
You could also make these scones without the help of a stand mixer. Everything can be mixed and kneaded by hand. The stand mixer just makes the process move along faster and leaves you without as much elbow grease to add to the process. Once your hot scones are out of the oven, fix yourself a cinnamon-spiked cup of coffee and enjoy!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Scones
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 cup refrigerated butter
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup dark chocolate chunks -- I used a mixture of dark and white chocolate chunks and loved it
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and allspice in the bowl of a stand mixer, lightly whisking together.
Using a knife, cut the butter into small pieces as best as you can. Then, add to the bowl and mix on medium speed until no large pieces of butter remain and the dry mixture looks crumbly.
Add the pumpkin puree and the eggs. Mix these into the dough and then attach the dough hook to the stand mixer. Mix the dough with the hook for 3-5 minutes until a soft, flexible dough forms.
Add the chocolate chunks and stir by hand just to combine.
Place the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and flatten with your hands into a circle, 3/4″ thick. Cut into eight triangles, and lay the individual scones on a lined baking sheet.
About ten minutes before the scones are ready, preheat your oven to 425° F. When ready, bake in the preheated oven for 16 to 20 minutes, testing with a toothpick at the end of the baking cycle to make sure they are done.
- Yields: 8 servings
- Preparation Time: 50 minutes