Many of you loved this pumpkin soup recipe, but when you make the soup, you often have leftover pumpkin puree. How can you use up that leftover pumpkin? I think I found a perfect solution: healthy pumpkin scones!
Pumpkin is not just a flavor to save only for the fall season or the autumn holidays. It is a completely versatile flavor that actually works well in both sweet and savory dishes. It’s also a warm, earthy flavor that is perfect to start out your day. I’ve come up with a way to make easy pumpkin scones that your whole family will enjoy.
Scones can be difficult to make because many require making a dough that has to rise and be kneaded properly, chilled, then cut and baked. While they taste great they often take a lot of time and who wants to be bothered? I found that if I use my food processor, I cut the prep down by more than half, and the dough is so well mixed that it only needs to be kneaded for a few minutes. Instead of cutting them in advance, I cook all the dough at once and cut out square or triangular scones of different sizes after it’s baked.
With these scones, you get a perfect breakfast meal, lunchtime dessert, midday snack, or something to have with an afternoon coffee or tea if company comes by. A batch of these would make a perfect hostess gift or to bring someone who has a busy schedule and would appreciate having a healthy breakfast option or snack on hand.
The scones are made of oats and fiber from the pumpkin, whole wheat flour and whatever add-ins you choose. They are low in sugar and use less butter than a traditional scone recipe. In fact, these are simple pantry ingredients, so you may not even need a trip to the store to make them! Try these the next time you make pumpkin soup or anything else that calls for pumpkin and have some leftover pumpkin puree.
Healthy Pumpkin Scones
- Vegetable spray
- ½ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix- use the plain, unseasoned pumpkin puree)
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk (or regular milk)
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ cup old fashioned rolled oats (not the quick cook kind)
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder (increase it to 2 or 2 ½ teaspoons for more fluffier scones)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- Optional add ins: ½ cup (or more depending on taste or preference) dried cranberries, golden raisins, currants, chopped walnuts, dried cherries or toasted pumpkin seeds.
- Optional sprinkle topping: 1 ½ teaspoons turbinado sugar
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Line a 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with vegetable spray.
- Whisk pumpkin puree, buttermilk, and egg yolk in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.
- 4n a food processor, pulse oats until they resemble coarse meal or sand.
- Add flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice to oat mix in food processor and pulse until combined.
- Add butter and pulse until the mix looks like fine sand or meal.
- If using optional add-ins: Add in berries, raisins, seeds, sugar or any combination and pulse 1-2 times to quickly combine.
- Add pumpkin mix and pulse 3-4 times until mix is moistened.
- Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead gently (about 5-6 times) until combined.
- Press the dough into the prepared pan (it may not all fit but that’s OK. It might just be 6-7 inches across and about ¾ inch thick). If using the topping: Sprinkle the top with the turbinado sugar.
- Bake 25-30 minutes until the top is golden or begins to crack. Remove from oven and cool 10-15 minutes then tip out onto a cutting board. Slice into 8 square or triangular scones. Cool completely.
Featured photo by Priscilla Du Preez