It is 5 am and I am wide awake. I have just woken up from a dream that rattled me awake and caused my mind to spin. It is still dark out and my cat, Barb, sleeps peacefully between Mark and I; her breaths make a little squeak sound when she exhales. I am envious of the two of them, just sleeping so still while I lay there, staring at the ceiling. I decide to get up since my mind won’t let me rest. I put on a sweater, leave the bedroom, and close the door, leaving it open a crack. The little light coming into the apartment is blue and the air coming in from the open window is cold. Looking out of the window, I see only a few other apartment lights on from the high rises that surround my home. I see them and they see me, we both wonder why the other is up so early.
My eyes are burning with fatigue, but my mind decides to bake something. Baking requires focus, accuracy, and it distracts me from the dream I had. I reattempt a failed recipe from the week before; a pumpkin scone. The truth is, I have never liked scones and I questioned why I bothered to make them in the first place. This kind of negative thinking only makes me grumpier than I already am and I put it out of my mind to focus.
As I measure out the ingredients, whisking the flours together, and testing out the spice ratio, I see more apartment lights flicker on. The sky is pale but the light coming in is a bit warmer. I put the scones in the oven and hope for the best. Barb comes into the kitchen, stretches her legs behind her, and purrs at my feet. In the mornings, she sucks up to me so I will get up and feed her. When her affection doesn’t work right away, she resorts to more aggressive tactics, which includes “brushing” my hair with her claws.
The apartment fills up with a spicy aroma and I feel much better when I take the scones out of the oven. They look perfect, a refined rustic appearance. I make myself some tea to distract myself from eating them straight off the pan. As the kettle boils, I step outside onto my balcony and breathe in the cool air. The sun is up and I can see people on the street with layers of sweaters and scarves walk toward the subway. The city wakes up and I can hear some construction workers start up their gear for the day’s work.
I whip up the glaze, adding a pinch of spice with each taste. I spoon the glaze on each scone and top with nuts. They are exactly what I wanted them to taste like; delicate, tender, and rich with spice.
I feel dizzy with sleepiness and head back to bed, my tea left undrunk. I pile the blankets on top of me and I fall asleep immediately. Maybe the scones were keeping me awake.
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This recipe is adapted from The Faux Martha’s Pumpkin Scones.
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons warm water
- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree
- 5 tablespoons full-fat coconut milk (shake the can well before measuring)
- 1½ cups Bob Mill's 1:1 GF Flour Blend*
- ½ cup GF oat flour
- ⅓ cup organic cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice (I used The Kitchn's recipe for Pumpkin Pie Spice)
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- Pumpkin Glaze
- 1 tablespoon canned pumpkin puree
- 1-2 tablespoons full-fat coconut milk
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup toasted walnut pieces
- On a small piece of parchment paper on a plate, measure out 6 tablespoons of solid coconut oil. Place in the refrigerator until very solid. In the meantime, mix the flax and water together in a small bowl to gel and set aside.
- In a bowl or measuring cup, mix the canned pumpkin and coconut milk together. Once the flax had gelled, whisk it the mixture into the pumpkin and coconut milk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, pumpkin spice, sugars, and salt together.
- Remove the coconut oil from the fridge, it should be very firm, and cut into small pieces.
- With a pastry cutter, cut the coconut oil into the flour mixture until only pea-sized solids of the coconut oil remain.
- Create a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Add the pumpkin/coconut milk mixture and stir until just combined. Overworking the dough melts the coconut oil too fast and will result in a tough, dense scone.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place dough on the baking sheet and form into a 6" square. Using a pastry bench or sharp chef's knife, cut the dough into 8 even pieces. With the bench scraper or a wide spatula, loosen from the bottom and space out the scones onto the baking sheet.
- Place the sheet in freezer and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Once preheated, remove scones from freezer and bake for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze.
- Clean out the large bowl you used for the scone dough. Whisk together the coconut milk, pumpkin, and spices together. Sift in the powdered sugar and whisk until no lumps remain. Set aside.
- Once the scones are done baking, let them cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire baking rack to cool completely.
- Once the scones are completely cooled, spoon on the glaze and sprinkle with toasted walnut pieces.
These look so delish! I have everything except the flour, can’t get that brand here in Spain so I will try it with my own gluten free mix. Fingers crossed it works out..
Thanks for sharing!
I think most gluten free mixes would work as long as they had xantham gum in it. Let me know if you make them with a homemade mix of your own! If they turn out and you have the mix recipe on your site, I would be happy to link it into the post for those who cannot get the Bob Mill’s Brand. Thanks!