Thanksgiving is almost here, judging by the canned pumpkin on sale at supermarkets. Some folks will buy it to make pumpkin pie, but I also stock up on it to make other fall standbys, such as scones, muffins and even flavoured tea.
Recipes for all three of these items follow. None is particularly hard to make, but all can bring a warm, aromatic, spice-filled start to your day.
The scones are deliciously moist and dense, but well risen, thanks to a fairly generous amount of baking powder. Serve warm or at room temperature, split and spread with butter and cranberry sauce or a preserve.
The pumpkin muffins are medium-sized and incorporate whole wheat flour, apple sauce, three types of spice, cranberries and pumpkin seeds. They also taste great slathered with butter! The recipe yields 12 muffins, and if that鈥檚 too many you can freeze the remainder for leftovers (see recipe for details).
Tea goes great with baked goods and my recipe also incorporates pumpkin, spice and foamy, hot milk. It鈥檚 called chai spice pumpkin latt茅, and the spice in the drink comes from the chai tea bags used.
My recipes don鈥檛 use an entire can of pumpkin, and any leftover could be refrigerated a few days and later swirled into another dish, such as soup or stew. It will also freeze well.
You could also try using fresh, homemade pumpkin pur茅e in these recipes. Just remember that canned pumpkin is quite thick, so your homemade pur茅e will also have to have the same consistency to yield the same results in the scone and muffin recipes.
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Pumpkin Spice Scones
I like to serve these seasonally flavoured, moist, dense, well-risen scones with butter and homemade cranberry sauce or a preserve, such as apple jelly, black currant jam or ginger marmalade.
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Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 16 to 18 minutes
Makes: 10 large scones
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2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and shaping
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup soft butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten
2 Tbsp maple syrup
Put an oven-rack in the middle position. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Place the butter and sugar in a second bowl and beat until well combined. Add the pumpkin, milk, egg and syrup and mix well (it鈥檚 OK if you see a few flecks of butter).
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until loose, fairly wet dough forms.
Flour a work surface. Flour your hands and then transfer the dough on to the work surface. Knead and shape dough into a ball, and then press into a disc about eight inches round and 3/4 to one inch thick.
Use a lightly floured, three-inch round cutter to cut the dough into scones and place them on the baking sheet. Gather up the scraps of dough and press and cut into more scones.
Bake the scones for 16 to 18 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Pumpkin Spice Muffins
These medium-sized, marvellous-tasting muffins see applesauce replace the oil often used in batters for them. These muffins also contain fibre-rich whole wheat flour and are also flecked with dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds.
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Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 18 to 20 minutes
Makes: 12 medium-sized muffins
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2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup unsalted pumpkins seeds (see Note)
鈥� vegetable oil spray
Put an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat oven to 375 F. Place eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce and vanilla in a mixing bowl and beat until well combined.
In a second bowl, place the flours, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Now stir in the cranberries and pumpkin seeds. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined.
Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with vegetable oil spray. Spoon the batter evenly into the cups. Bake the muffins for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a muffin in the middle of the pan springs back when gently touched in the centre. Cool muffins in the pan on a rack 10 minutes. Unmould and serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: Unsalted pumpkin seeds are sold in the bulk foods section of some supermarkets and at bulk food stores.
Eric options: If you desire large muffins, divide the batter among nine of the cups in the pan, not 12. Increase baking time by a couple of minutes.
Freeze leftover muffins in an airtight container after they have cooled to room temperature. To reheat, thaw at room temperature overnight and then warm for a few minutes in a 200 F oven.
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Chai Spice Pumpkin Latt茅
Warm, comforting milk, aromatic and awakening tea and spices and earthy pumpkin combine in this perfect-for-autumn beverage.
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Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: about eight minutes
Makes: two servings
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1 1/4 cups 2 per cent or homo milk (see Eric's options)
2 Tbsp canned pumpkin, or to taste
2 to 3 tsp maple syrup, or to taste
2 Chai tea bags (see Note)
鈥� ground cinnamon, for sprinkling (optional)
Place milk, pumpkin and syrup in a small pot and bring to a just below a simmer over medium heat (don鈥檛 boil). Set in tea bags, remove from the heat, cover pot and let tea steep five minutes.
Remove tea bags from the pot, gently pressing on them with a spoon to release any liquid in them before you do.
Set milk mixture back on the heat and bring to just below a simmer again. Remove pot from heat and with an immersion (hand) blender, whirl the mixture until very foamy on top. If you don鈥檛 have an immersion blender, you could vigorously whip milk mixture with a whisk in the pot until foamy.
Divide and pour latt茅 between two cups, holding back some of the foam with a spoon when pouring. Now top each latt茅 with that foam. Sprinkle each latt茅 with a bit of cinnamon, if using, and serve.
Note: Chai tea bags are sold in the boxed tea aisle of most supermarkets.
Eric鈥檚 options: If you can鈥檛 have dairy, make this latt茅 with an equal amount of coconut, soy or rice beverage.
