Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones with Maple Glaze

Well hello there!  Long time no see, huh?!  Oh my goodness, I cannot believe that it's been several months since I've been on here!  I really had no intention of taking that long of a hiatus but it was very necessary and some much needed time off.  I hope you can understand. 

So much has happened in the last few months....we found out we were moving for Chris' job, we actually made the move to Atlanta (with several commutes back and forth to South Carolina and a month in temporary housing), we found a house and are still making progress on settling into it, and we got engaged!  Yep, Chris finally popped the question and I couldn't be more happy or more excited about how it all came together!  And oh my goodness, y'all, the ring he picked out is absolutely gorgeous!  He did such a good job and I'm so proud of him!

So, with the whirlwind of events taking place in our lives, the idea of cooking and baking was not very appealing to me!  And the idea of staging the food, taking pictures, writing up a post and then adding it to the blog was even more unappealing.  I temporarily lost my passion to have anything to do with the kitchen!  You would think that after eating out for over a month, I would've been excited to get in there and make a home cooked meal.  Well, I really wanted a home cooked meal, but I didn't want to make it!  But I finally got back in there and I finally got my drive back to start blogging my cooking adventures here again!  I'm really sorry to leave y'all hanging like that.

So without further ado, let me introduce to you this yummy Autumn-flavored Pumpkin Scone!  What better way is there than to get back into the swing of things with a tasty Fall treat?!  There isn't.  I know I said it last Fall year and I'm sayin' it again now....I LOVE PUMPKIN!  And this scone is such a nice addition to any Autumn breakfast, tea (or coffee) with friends or dessert after a nice warm meal.  It is so good and the addition of chocolate chips really balance out the pumpkin flavor.  I decided to add a drizzle of maple glaze on top to add just a touch of sweetness and boy, did it do the trick!  These are great little things you can quickly throw together for an unexpected guest or even to freeze for future use.  They've got substance to them and hold up nicely!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones with Maple Glaze

Ingredients - Scones
2 cups Flour

1/3 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 Tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp. Salt
8 Tbsp. cold, Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Buttermilk
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree'
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

Ingredients - Glaze
2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
1 cup Powdered Sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add in the butter and stir with a fork to combine.  Using the fork or a pastry blender, but the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs (the largest pieces of butter should be no larger than the size of a pea).  Add in the chocolate chips and mix to combine.

In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, pumpkin and vanilla; mix well.  Add into the dry ingredients and stir together gently just until the dough comes together.  **I found the dough to be quite sticky, so I kneaded it for a bit on a floured surface just to help it come together more.  Be careful, though, to not overwork the dough if you do this**


Move the dough to the prepared baking sheet and pat it out into a 9-inch round.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 22-25 minutes).  Allow it to cool and slice it into wedges.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the butter and maple syrup over medium heat until combined.  Gradually whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth.  Allow it to cool just enough to transfer to a pastry bag (or Ziploc bag with the tip slightly cut off) and drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones.

Yield: 8 Servings
Source: Scone recipe adapted from Annies Eats, originally from Joy of Baking and Maple Glaze recipe from Martha Stewart.