These Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones are a perfect treat to welcome in Autumn. Whether you eat them for breakfast or for dessert, these scones are perfectly crumbly with just a hint of nutmeg!
I'm not ready for Christmas (or even Halloween) decorations to be in stores, but autumn's arrival has me teeming with thrill. Autumn in the Pacific Northwest is a glorious thing, and it is so good to be back! Every sensation is heightened and more enjoyable here. The smell of the rain is fresher. The crunch of the leaves underfoot is so much more satisfying. The taste of the seasonal produce more rich and delightful. After 6 long years of missing out on this season (although Pittsburgh did provide some similar feelings) I am so glad to finally be back to enjoy it. While everyone else is busting out their PSL's, I thought I'd give you a different way to use pumpkin to welcome autumn.
This Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones recipe is also the first recipe I am contributing to the #BreadBakers collaborative. This group gets together a bunch of food bloggers to create a recipe around a common theme. This month's host is Kylee from kyleecooks.com, and her chosen theme is pumpkin/pumpkin spice! Make sure to scroll past my recipe to see the other awesome contributions based on Kylee's theme!
Skills & Techniques
To really own these Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones and make them to light and crumbly perfection, here are some skills & techniques I recommend brushing up on!
- All About Flour. This recipe uses both whole wheat and cake flour - find out why!
- The Biscuit Method. This is the baking method used to mix the fat into the flour. Learn how to master it for scones that will make you sound like Agnes from Despicable Me "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!!!!!".
- How to Buy & Store Pumpkins. If you would like to be super awesome and get your seeds straight from the source, this will help you pick out the right pumpkin for the job.
- How To Roast Pumpkin Seeds. This not only tells you how to roast them, but also explains what a pepita is.
- Tips for Using Silicone Baking Mats. While not the only way these scones can be made, they are my preferred method.
- How To Bake. Everything you could want to know on the baking cooking method.
Leftovers?
These Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones are best consumed while still warm, but if you happen to have some leftover they will stay fresh in an airtight container for about 3 days. Make sure your scones are completely cooled before storing them to prevent any unnecessary condensation. If you have leftover brown butter glaze, you can keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.
If you would like to reheat your Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones, I recommend:
- Preheat the oven to 200°F
- Place your leftover scones on a parchment or silicone mat lined sheet pan and place in the oven for 5 minutes, or until warmed throughout.
- Remove from the oven and serve right away.
A little tip for you. Store your scones in a single layer so you don't lose the delicious brown butter glaze to the scone that was stacked on top of it! That glaze is heavenly, and I would hate for your leftovers experience to be anything but other-worldly. 🙂
Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it can be either sweet or savory. The whole wheat flour and toasted pumpkin seeds lends itself to those who don't want to be overwhelmed with sugar first thing. Or you can choose to drizzle on some of the brown butter glaze for a delicious sweet treat. If you do decide to opt out of the glaze, I recommend going a little heavier on the sugar in the raw than the recipe call for. This will help balance out the flavors just a little bit better.
Also, while I'm thinking about it, it is totally your call on whether or not you use whole pumpkin seeds or pepitas. Either will work well for the recipe. I went with the pepitas because those are more common to find in the grocery store so this Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones recipe can be enjoyed year round.
Get your free printable grocery list for this Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones recipe HERE.
This grocery list has everything you'll need to make these Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones. Each ingredient is listed in easy to find amounts that will help make grocery shopping as simple as possible. If no specific amount is listed that means you can purchase the smallest package available and still have leftovers.
Happy Cooking! 🙂
#BreadBakers
I want to say a super huge thank you to Kylee from kyleecooks.com for hosting this month's #BreadBakers collection. #BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Updated links are also available on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.
Pumpkin/Pumpkin Spice Recipes
Here's the list of all the recipes and the lovely bloggers who participated in this month's theme of Pumpkin/Pumpkin Spice!
- Almost Vegan Chocolate and Pumpkin Loaf Cake by Sizzling Tastebuds
- Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones by Food Above Gold
- Cinnamon Pumpkin Quick Bread by Food Lust People Love
- Cinnamon Spice Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts and a Trio of Frosting by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
- Hearty Whole Wheat Bread with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds by Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Italian Pumpkin Bread by Mayuri's Jikoni
- Lal Bhoplyachya Gharge by Sneha's Recipe
- Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Swirl by A Baker's House
- Pumpkin Cardamom Buns by Sara's Tasty Buds
- Pumpkin Chocolate Babka by House of Nash Eats
- Pumpkin Cornbread by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
- Pumpkin Dinner Rolls by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling by Cook's Hideout
- Pumpkin Pepita Muffin Tops by A Salad For All Seasons
- Pumpkin Pie Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls by Kylee Cooks
- Pumpkin Raisin Scones by Palatable Pastime
- Pumpkin Ricotta Pull Apart Buns by Food Smart Mom
- Pumpkin Sour Cherry Sourdough Bread by A Shaggy Dough Story
- Pumpkin Spice Ale Soft Pretzels by Baking Sense
- Pumpkin Spice Raisin Bread with Kinako by What Smells So Good?
- Pumpkin Spice Swirl Quickbread by Baking in Pyjamas
- Multigrain Pumpkin Bread by Herbivore Cucina
- Two Tone Pumpkin Bread by Passion Kneaded
- Whole Wheat Pumpkin Sandwich Loaf by Gayathri's Cook Spot
- Yeasted Pumpkin Bread by Veena’s Vegnation
Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones | #BreadBakers
Ingredients
Brown Butter
- 12 tablespoon (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter
Scone Dough
- ¾ cup pumpkin seeds, (aka pepitas)
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour, , spooned and leveled
- 1 cups cake flour, , spooned and leveled
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon nutmeg
- 2 cups heavy cream
Cream Wash
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon sugar in the raw
Brown Butter Glaze
- 3 tablespoon (½ stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- milk or cream as needed to reach desired consistency
Instructions
Brown Butter
- In a heavy bottomed sauté pan over low heat, melt the butter until it stops popping and splattering and the milk solids have turned a deep brown. About 10 Minutes. Place the brown butter into a heat safe container. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best.
Preheat
- Preheat the oven to 425°F
Brown Butter & Pumpkin Seed Scones
- In a bowl, mix together the whole wheat flour, cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
- Remove the brown butter from the refrigerator and turn it out onto a cutting board. Cut it into small pieces and put them into the bowl of dry ingredients. Use a fork or pastry cutter to break the butter into small pieces no larger than a pea. (See Note). Place in the refrigerator and let chill for 15 Minutes.
- While the dough chills, place your pumpkin seeds in a dry sauté pan over medium low heat. Stirring occasionally, cook until the pumpkin seeds until they begin to resemble autumn leaves - green, but with some yellow and brown mixed in. About 5 Minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and stir in the cooled pumpkin seeds. Make a well in the center of the dough and pour in the cream. Use a rubber spatula to turn the dry ingredients into the cream until everything is combined.
- Place the dough on a board or counter that has been dusted with a little flour and shape it into a disc about ¾" - 1" thick. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and place them about an inch apart on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Wash & Bake
- Brush the heavy cream over the top (and sides if you can) of each scone then sprinkle the sugar in the raw on top.
- Bake for [/timer]20 Minutes or until the scones are lightly browned with no visible raw spots. They should feel a bit spongy to the touch. Remove and let cool.
Brown Butter Glaze & Serve
- While your scones bake, melt your 3 Tablespoons of butter over low heat until it has stopped popping and splattering and the milk solids have browned. About 10 Minutes. Pour your brown butter into a heat safe bowl and let cool for 5 Minutes.
- Stir the vanilla extract, salt, and powdered sugar into the brown butter until smooth. Use milk or cream (a teaspoon at a time) to thin out your glaze to your desired consistency.
- Drizzle each scone with your desired amount of glaze and serve.
Daisy says
What a fun roundup! And you might remember how much I love scones, so this one definitely interests me. 😉
Smruti says
Wow this is totally delicious!! Loved all the links you put in to explain so well!