Pumpkin Scones

The first in my parade of autumn baking, these hit the spot on sunday morning. They are just the right texture- not too cakey- and the Ginger-Molasses glaze drizzled on top was the perfect touch. It was our free day, so I made it with the butter. In the future, I plan on trying it with margarine or maybe canola oil. I'll have plenty of chances to experiment because they were a hugely popular with the breakfast crowd!

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 sp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp allspice

6 Tbs unsalted butter

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 435 degrees. Sift dry ingredients into small bowl. Combine pumpkin, milk, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using pastry blender until it is coarse crumbs. Pour all at once into pumpkin mixture, stirring until everything is just combined. The dough will be crumbly- this is as it should be. Turn onto a piece of wax paper, knead it until it sticks together. Don't over-knead. Pat the dough into a 1" thick circle. Cut into 8 pie pieces. Place on baking sheets, and bake for 15 minutes or until they begin to turn golden brown. Cool slightly on baking racks, and drizzle with glaze while still warm. Serve warm.

Ginger-Molasses Glaze

1 Tbs milk

1 Tbs molasses

1/4 tps ginger

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Adjust the ratio of milk to sugar to suit your tastes. I prefer it to be rather thin so I can drizzle it.