Starbucks at Home

I wish I had a Starbucks bar complete with barista built into my home, at my beck and call 24-7. This is not an uncommon statement to profess, especially in the Fall when the seasonal drinks start resurfacing on their menu. Pumpkin spice lattes, salted caramel mochas (please do try one of these.. it's worth the hefty price tag, once in a while), gingerbread mochas, and peppermint hot chocolates have become some of my favorites over the years. Nothing goes better with these drinks, in my opinion, than one of their yummy pumpkin scones.
Perusing some of my favorite food and baking blogs, I came across a recipe for pumpkin scones that seemed to mimic the Starbucks ones right down to the double icing. It's easy to put together (I did so in about 10 minutes) and quick to bake (another 12 minutes or so), so a perfect fall morning treat with a nice steamy mug of coffee. For the price of one Starbucks pumpkin scone, you can make a whole batch.
These were delish. Give them a try.

Pumpkin Scones

(adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen)

Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 3T granulated sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
6 T cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 T heavy cream or half and half
1 large egg

Simple Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 T milk

Spiced Icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 T milk
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice

Preheat your oven to 425F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a nonstick reusable liner such as a Silpat. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Add the butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to break the butter into smaller pieces and incorporate it into the dry mixture until it resembles a coarse cornmeal consistency. You want small lumps of butter running throughout.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, heavy cream and egg. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you have made a roughly-shaped ball. On a floured surface, turn out the ball and pat it to make a 4"x12" rectangle. Cut the rectangle into thirds and then cut an X into each third, leaving you with 12 triangular scones. Place them on the lined baking tray and bake for about 12 - 15 minutes. You want a light browning on these scones. Be sure not to overbake as they will dry out. When the scones come out of the oven, let them cool for about 20 minutes before adding the icing.
Make the icing: To make the simple icing, whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl. For the spiced icing, do the same in a separate bowl.
Once the scones are cooled, dip them into the simple icing or use a pastry brush to brush the icing on. Let the icing harded for a few minutes. Then take a fork, dip it into the spiced icing, and lightly drizzle it over your scones. Let the icing set for a few minutes and voila - pumpkin scones a la Starbucks, only better. Oh, and these are completely freezable, iced and all! Just microwave them for 15 seconds at a time at 70% until warm. Enjoy!