It's March Madness and Central New York is bleeding Orange.
To get out of a winter cooking rut, I turned to some magazines for inspiration and found plenty in the autumn issue of Edible Finger Lakes magazine, which contained a recipe for Winter Squash Scones and Roasted Delicata Squash Stuffed With White Beans, Greens and Sage.
Adapted from Edible Finger Lakes magazine
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
½ cup pumpkin puree
¾ cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg beaten and mixed with a little water to make an egg wash
Maple sugar for garnish (optional)
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Add chilled butter to flour mixture and combine using a pastry cutter until you have pea-sized chunks.
In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, cream, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth. Add to the flour mixture, mixing lightly with a fork until the liquid is just incorporated. Do not over mix.
Knead the dough several times in the bowl, then turn it out onto a floured work surface. Cut the dough in half and pat each half into a disk, roughly 1 inch high and 5 inches in diameter. Cut each disk into six wedge-shaped scones, and place the scones on the baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart.
Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle with maple sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned. Cool on a rack. Stir together the confectioner’s sugar and syrup until smooth. Makes 12 scones.
Maureen -- I don't see why Cheez Doodles can't be part of a (relatively) healthy diet on occasion... we're supposed to 'Eat a Rainbow!'
Thanks for stopping by!
Posted by: Margaret @ Eat First | 03/13/2011 at 01:43 PM
Margaret these look healthy and delicious. But can I still eat Cheese Doodles?
Posted by: Maureen | 03/12/2011 at 05:06 PM
Hi, Katrina --
I like the "eat a rainbow" strategy of getting kids to eat vegetables!
Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend.
Posted by: Margaret @ Eat First | 03/11/2011 at 05:48 PM
These all look delicious!! When I was little, my parents always told me I needed more orange in my stomach to get me to eat squash & pumpkin - I now love both, so they were right :)
Posted by: Katrina | 03/10/2011 at 11:28 PM