Cooking With WCCO: Pumpkin Scones

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It's October. That means pumpkin is everywhere. Pumpkin is prolific in everything from coffee to desserts, so why not spice up your scone with a hint of pumpkin?

Chef Ashley Mendel from Le Cordon Bleu in Minneapolis has a quick, easy pumpkin score recipe to do just that!

And keep reading for bonus recipes for pumpkin soup and pumpkin crème brulee!

Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup and 3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. ground ginger
2 tbs. and ¼ cup cold butter
½ cup canned pumpkin
3 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
1 large egg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425⁰F.
Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Using a fork, cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and there are no obvious large chunks of butter. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk pumpkin, heavy whipping cream and egg.
Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and form the dough into a ball.
Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a one-inch thick rectangle about three times as long as it is wide.
Using a large knife, slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions.
Place on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until light brown.
Place on wire rack to cool, slice into pieces as desired, serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients:

4 tbsp. butter
2 onions
4 cloves garlic
6 Yukon gold potatoes
2 pumpkins
5 cups chicken stock
2 ribs celery
2 cups heavy cream
4 tbsp. ginger, grated
6 pieces bacon
6 sage leaves
2 oz. olive oil
1 tsp. nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400⁰F.
Halve the pumpkins and remove their cores. Roast pumpkin flesh in oven for 45 minutes.
In a medium saucepan, simmer butter, onion and garlic for three minutes.
Add celery to saucepan and continue to cook for five minutes.
Add potatoes, garlic and chicken stock to saucepan and continue to cook for 30 minutes.
Add pumpkin to saucepan. Then, incorporate entire contents of pan in a blender. After smooth, return to saucepan and add heavy cream, and additional chicken stock as needed, stirring on low heat.
In a separate sauté pan, fry off bacon. Let cool on paper towel.
Add sage leaves to bacon fat and fry off for a few minutes.
Add sage, bacon and nutmeg on top of soup.
Drizzle soup with olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste, serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin Crème Brulee
Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream, divided in half
4 egg yolks
3 ½ tbsp. brown sugar
Pinch of Kosher salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. allspice
⅓ cup pure pumpkin puree
1 tbsp. sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300⁰F.
Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Place half cup heavy cream, brown sugar and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Turn off heat and stir in vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger and allspice.
Allow mixture to steep for a few minutes and then add remaining half cup heavy cream.
Pour cream mixture slowly and gradually into mixing bowl with egg yolks while whisking.
Whisk in pumpkin puree.
Next, evenly divide the mixture into four 4-ounce ramekins or canning jars.
Line a large baking dish with a dish towel and place the filled ramekins inside. Carefully pour very hot water around the ramekins, until baking dish is two-thirds full.
Bake ramekins in water for 40-45 minutes, or until the jar contents' edges are set but the centers still jiggle.
Remove ramekins from water bath and refrigerate for at least two hours.
Sprinkle about a teaspoon of sugar over the surface of each custard, then brûlée with a kitchen torch.
Serve and enjoy!