*20 mins later I get a text from Brook* "They're so good. I ate them all!"
Gluten free pumpkin scones perfectly paired with whipped cream for a delicious anytime treat.
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What is a scone?
Scones are a breakfast and/or dessert item intended to be eaten with a beverage. They're slightly sweeter than a biscuit and have more of a crumbly texture.
Pumpkin Scones
To make pumpkin scones suitable for a diabetic diet, the wheat flour is swapped for almond flour in this recipe.
They are slightly sweetened with coconut sugar, but in a very very small amount so they're still low carb and low sugar.
All ingredients considered, they're a great healthy treat.
How to make gluten free pumpkin scones
Thankfully, gluten free baking recipes are really easy. No gluten means there's less technique to worry about, and there's no gluten to develop for the structure of the final product. Specifically with scones, no kneading is necessary.
Making these scones is truly easy. You simply combine all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, spices) together in a bowl and mix. In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients (canned pumpkin puree, butter, egg).
Then pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well. The batter has to be shaped by hand (easiest to do it between parchment paper). After shaping into a circle, bake it and let it rest before cutting and serving.
Recipe Substitutions
Almond Flour
Any flour that swaps 1 for 1 for regular flour works in this recipe. If it's lighter in weight than almond flour, you can reduce the baking powder by half.
Coconut Sugar
Any sugar is fine, but if you use a sugar substitute that calls for less, add 1 to 2 tablespoons extra almond flour to make up for the difference.
Don't worry: the final product will still be moist.
Butter
The butter is necessary to cut (a baking technique) into the flour, giving the scone its texture.
However, if you want to make this recipe dairy free, you can swap the butter for a non-fragrant oil. It'll change the texture a bit (more like a cake/pie hybrid) but the flavor will still be good.
More Breakfast Ideas
Recipe Notes
1. When you cut the butter into the flour mixture, the texture should be like wet sand when squeezed.
2. The final dough is slightly wet and slightly sticky, which is why the parchment paper is suggested. If you don't have paper, you can add flour to your hands.
3. The final scone will be crunchy on the outside.
4. If it softens over night, you can heat it in a cast iron skillet on low heat to crisp it back up.
5. Serve them topped with whipped cream for added sweetness and amazing texture!
6. Store them in an air tight container or baggie in the refrigerator for up to 4 days (they last longer but if you don't plan to eat them within 4 day, freeze the leftovers to be safe.
7. Reheat in the microwave or in a cast iron skillet on low heat.
Recipe
Pumpkin Scones
- 1 ⅓ cups Almond Flour (Blue Diamond brand)
- small pinch Salt
- 2 teaspoons Double Acting Baking Powder
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Sugar
- 1½ teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter (cold)
- ¼ cup Pumpkin Puree (canned)
- 1 Large Egg
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.In a bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients: almond flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.
- Cut the butter into thirds, both ways, making 9 small pieces. Add them to the dry mixture and use your hands to squeeze the butter with the mixture, thoroughly, until there are no more chunks of butter. When it's fully incorporated, the mixture will feel and look like semi-wet sand in your hand.
- In another bowl, mix well with a spoon the egg and pumpkin puree.
- Pour the dry flour and butter mixture into the egg mixture and mix well with a spoon.
- Lay a piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet and pour the dough onto the paper. Lay another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough.Using the paper to protect your hands, shape the dough into a circle that is about ½-inch high and 6 to 7 inches in diameter.
- Remove the top piece of parchment paper and place the baking sheet in the middle of the over. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top middle is firm to the touch.Allow it to cool before cutting into 6 equal slices.
Anna
Getting ready to try this out, can I cut the scones before I bake? I have another breakfast scone recipe (gluten-filled, of course, hankering for it now that I've been diagnosed with GD) that cuts before baking and it makes it super easy to freeze them once cooled for an easy warm-up breakfast ?
The Gestational Diabetic Chef
Hi Anna! It's been such a long time since making this that I'm not sure if the dough is stiff enough. I'd say judge for yourself if the dough will hold its shape in the smaller sizes. Logic would tell me yes, but I don't want to lead you astray. I hope they help your craving 🙂 - Traci