As you may recall, I'm trying to make my sweets a little less sweet. This is very hard to do during the holidays. I mean, come on. Usually I tried to lose all my weight BEFORE the holidays plus some so I had room to gain a couple of pounds. Seriously. I'm like a bear hibernating this time of year... only I'm not going into hibernation, so the fat tends to... well... ya get the picture.

Since that's not the case this year, this scone recipe was part of my "cutting back". I knew there was no way I was going to part with these babies.

I. Love. Scones.

Oh, and I love pumpkin.

Double ut-oh.

So, here's my healthier version... and might I just say, they were just enough to keep other sweet-cravings at bay... for now.


Ingredients:

- 1 C all-purpose, unbleached flour
- 1 C whole wheat flour
- 1/3 C sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 C pumpkin puree
- 3 tbsp half & half (low fat)
- 1 egg
- 6 tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 425. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper if you have it. Spraying with cooking spray is not necessary if you have a non-stick sheet.
- Whisk together your half&half, egg, and pumpkin. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together your flours, baking powder, sugar, salt, and spices. Add your cut-up butter.
- Use a pastry cutter to mix your butter in. There should be no pieces larger than tiny peas left. It really just feels like course crumbs or a thicker mix.
- Next, add your pumpkin mix into your dry mix. You may have to use your hands to really get it together nicely.
- Now you want to put some flour down. DO NOT put down as much flour as I did. This caused the bottom of the scones to be... well... VERY flour-y. Put a good amount down, but certainly not this much. I was half asleep when I did this... that's my excuse.
Now, roll out your dough until it's about 12 inches long and somewhere between four to six inches wide. Then you want to cut it into three sections, and cut those sections in halves or thirds. Halves will get you some funky-looking scones (note mine)... so I ended up cutting some of them into fourths just to make them look a little more "normal". But... normal is SO overrated.


- Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Let cool, drool, and enjoy.


For an icing recipe, and the original that inspired this one, check out The Shoe Box Kitchen.