Guest Blogger

Today's guest blogger, who is actually my very first guest blogger, is my wonderful, amazing, talented mother. She found a scrumptious recipe from the Family Circle magazine and I thought it would be an appropriate recipe to share now that the California temperature is cooling and we are making our way into the Fall season. I am not a big pumpkin fan or a big scones fan, so I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed my mom's pumpkin scones. This recipe makes approximately 9 servings, or more if you make the scones smaller.

Ingredients:

- 3 cups all-purpose flour

- 2/3 cups sugar

- 1 tablespoon baking powder

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 3/4 teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

- 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

-3/4 cup buttermilk (regular mild works, too)

-1 egg

- 3/4 cup (or more) raisins or chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl. Add butter; mix with pastry blender until mixtures resembles coarse crumbs.

3) In a small bowl, whisk together pumpkin, milk, and egg. Gently stir into dough, along with raisins or chocolate chips. (If you know my mother and I, our batch had chocolate chips.)

4) Drop dough by 1/2 cupfuls onto prepared sheet, about 2 inches apart. (These make very large scones. If you choose to make them smaller, adjust the time to a little less.) Sprinkle additional sugar evenly over dough.

5) Bake at 400 degrees for 16 minutes (about 12 minutes for smaller scones) or until golden brown. Remove to wire rack and let cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

These scones were a wonderful addition to my morning breakfast. They taste great served with coffee or tea. If you pair with coffee, try using a pumpkin spice creamer to compliment the two tastes.

Bon Appetit!