These gluten free pumpkin scones have the delightfully crumbly, but moist, crumb of all good pastry, and all the tastes of pumpkin pie. Don't forget the simple sugar icing!
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
Make the scones dough.
In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice and sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the cold, chopped butter and toss to combine.
With well-floured hands, flatten each piece of butter between a thumb and forefinger, handling the butter as little as possible. Add the pumpkin butter and cream, and mix just until the dough comes together.
Shape the dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured piece of parchment paper and, with well-floured hands, lightly pat the dough into a round.
Sprinkle the dough lightly with a bit of flour, cover with another sheet of unbleached parchment paper and roll out into a circle about 8-inches in diameter and about 1/2-inch thick.
Place the dough into the freezer and chill until firm, about 10 minutes.
Remove the dough from the freezer and, with a floured bench scraper or large, sharp knife, slice the dough into 8 triangles (the first two cuts are perpendicular lines through the center of the dough).
Bake the scones.
Place the triangles onto the prepared baking sheet and bake, rotating once, until lightly golden brown all over, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the scones on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the white icing.
Place about half of the confectioners’ sugar in a medium-sized bowl and add 1 tablespoon of milk. Mix to combine.
It should form a very thick paste. Add more milk by the quarter-teaspoonful, mixing vigorously until it reaches a very thickly pourable consistency.
Ice the cooled scones.
Dip the top of each cooled scone in the icing, or spoon the icing over the top and place, icing side up, back on the baking sheet.
Make the spiced icing.
Place the remaining confectioners’ sugar and the cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl, and whisk to combine.
Add the maple syrup, and mix to combine. Again, it will form a thick paste.
Add the milk by the quarter-teaspoonful mixing after each addition, mixing vigorously until it reaches a very thickly pourable consistency.
Decorate with the spiced icing.
Drizzle the icing over the glazed scones in a geometric pattern. Allow to set at room temperature and serve.
Notes
Originally published on the blog in 2012. In 2016, photos updated, scones recipe unchanged, method updated slightly.