Pumpkin Scones: Gluten Free and Delicious
It’s school holidays again and I’ve been wracking my brain for simple baking ideas to help keep my granddaughters entertained in the kitchen. The difficult part is that the youngest has an intolerance to wheat and almonds while the eldest cannot eat honey.
A large Jap pumpkin from a friend’s vegie garden inspired me to trial gluten free scones. Bananas and carrots added to gluten free cakes give them structure so I figured that the pumpkin would behave in the same way and disguise the compromised texture in the absence of gluten. I also secretly hoped too that the vegetable flavour would be disguised sufficiently to win over the young pumpkin haters.
Pumpkin scones were made popular in Australia by a politician’s wife in the 1970’s. Flo Bjelke-Peterson became a household name purely and simply because of her novel scone recipe and I remember following her instructions closely in my early days as a cook, but for this gluten free adaptation I looked at a few different formulas and then cooked my scones by feel.
Our gluten free pumpkin scones were a rip roaring success. The crumb was tender and moist with plenty of bounce. Warm from the oven, slathered with butter and topped with cheese, they were devoured with gusto. Not one single scone remained.
Pumpkin Scones: Gluten Free and Delicious
3 cups of all purpose gluten free flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspon salt
1 teaspoon xantham gum
1/3 cup castor sugar
1 generous cup steamed drained and cooled pumpkin
2 eggs
50g melted butter
Preheat the oven to 200C fan forced. Line an ovenproof tray with baking paper.
Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Use a wire whisk to combine the ingredients well then whisk in the sugar.
Thoroughly combine the pumpkin, eggs and melted butter.
Make a well in the centre of the flour, pour in the pumpkin then lightly fold the ingredients together.
Once the dough is too stiff to continue folding, tip the mixture on a floured board and lightly knead the dough but only until it’s just amalgamated.
Pat the ball of dough into an oblong approx 15cm X 20cm and 3cm thick.
Use a floured palate knife to cut the dough into twelve pieces.
Transfer the scones to the paper lined baking sheet placing them only 1cm apart. This will force them to rise rather than spread.
Brush the top of the scones lightly with milk then bake for 15-20 minutes.
The cooked scones will be well risen, golden and firm to the touch. If you are unsure wheteher they are cooked, test one from the middle of the tray with a skewer.
About ladyredspecs
17 comments on “Pumpkin Scones: Gluten Free and Delicious”
Leave a Reply
Creative Commons Copyright Licence
Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
Pingback: Pumpkin and Pepita Spelt Sourdough Bread | Please Pass the Recipe
It’s so very unAustralian of me Sandra, but must admit that I’ve never tried pumpkin scones before. This sounds like a winning recipe to try though and how lovely that your granddaughters enjoyed them so much!
LikeLike
Pumpkin scones are an easy cook for the kids, they’ll enjoy making and eating!
LikeLike
These look amazing, I am so making them for the Yak. I have got back into scone making with regular flour and was putting off trying gluten free versions. I have a mother who makes perfect scones (both regualar and GF) so I feel like mine never taste quite as good!
LikeLike
We loved these scones Cheery, hope you do too. Psst, ask your Mum for some tips..
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a wonderful recipe for my pumpkin! I do so enjoy pumpkin scones, as do the boys. So glad it was a hit with your granddaughters.
LikeLike
Thanks Gretchen, the pumpkin was perfect in the scones. Enjoy..
LikeLike
I attribute my love of cooking to my grandmother and her sharing her time in the kitchen with me as a child. Good for you! These scones look delicious. I do love pumpkin and I am sure it kept them nice and moist!
LikeLike
My daughter got me blogging to catalogue my recipes, so that they would pass down the generations so it’s apt I cook with my grand daughters. They both love cooking are quite competent in the kitchen already. Hopefully it sticks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely!
LikeLike
Thanks Anita
LikeLiked by 1 person
These look amazing! I have no food restrictions when it comes to wheat, but I think I will still try making these! Thanks for sharing 🙂
LikeLike
I hope you enjoy the pumpkin scones as much as we did Amanda
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thought of Flo first thing. Had to read what you did with the recipe.
LikeLike
Yeah, good ol’ Flo, she made such an impression on all cooks of our generation. I was super pleased how her scone idea came to life gluten free. These will be a regular treat!
LikeLike
Nice! I’ve been seduced by all these pumpkin recipes coming out of Australian posts lately. It is one of my favourites, and luckily I have stashes of purée in the freezer that NEED to be used up. Scones (sorry – will translate yours to gluten flour and eliminating the xantham gum) up next.
LikeLike
Just a direct switch should do it Deb, the flavour is delicious. Pumpkin is available all year here, but there is so many recipes that are suited to the cold weather that use pumpkin we all go a bit pumpkin crazy!
LikeLike