Maple Glazed Pumpkin Scones

Thanksgiving is less than a week away. My mind’s been conjuring up all kinds of recipes—maybe too many. For days I’ve been trying to clear the decks to bake and cook and post holiday foods. But, life isn’t always that accommodating and it doesn’t always go according to plan. The clock continues to tick and the few moments I’ve had to make those imaginary recipes have come and gone.

I’m not complaining. I’ve been doing some fun things in my free time. (You remember free time, right? The hours between real work, house work, and all that other obligatory stuff that eats up the day.) The weather’s been great so I’ve been taking walks with the dogs as often as possible. And, last weekend my husband,  sister, her beau and I went to The Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. Wow! Whether you’re a foodie or not you’re going to want to visit this spectacular food emporium. It’s aisle after aisle of vendors who tempt you with baked goods and coffees, ice cream, fish, fresh and smoked meats. There’s green grocers, candy counters and cheese makers. You name it—they sell it there. Yep, that’s right, it’s foodie heaven.

Yesterday we ventured into NYC to see West Side Story on Broadway in celebration of my brother-in-law’s birthday. (Happy Birthday, Bill!) The cast was young, talented and energized and gave the audience a wonderful, heartfelt performance. There were more than a few tears shed at the closing curtain. Afterwards we stopped at Bonefish Grill for an early dinner. The gluten-free menu offered a wide selection of appetizers, sides, and entrees. I had the grilled Shrimp and Scallops with mango chutney and it hit the spot.

So, all in all, it’s been a busy, happy month. But, sorry guys, there wasn’t enough time to really do justice to the blog for Thanksgiving. Lesson learned in my first year of blogging. Fortunately next Thanksgiving I’ll get another shot at it.

That said, here’s a Thanksgiving morning breakfast scone. Pop ‘em in the oven before you start to prep the turkey or better yet, make them the night before and heat them slightly while the oven is getting up to temperature for turkey roasting. Then once the bird is in the oven, pour yourself a cup of coffee and have a well-deserved treat.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Maple Glazed Pumpkin Scones

Scones

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1 1/4 cups GF flour blend*

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Spread, chilled

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3/4 cup pumpkin

Maple Glaze

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. The rack should be in the center position.

Mix the lemon juice and coconut milk. Set aside.

Place the dry ingredients (sorghum flour through salt) into a food processor fitted with a blade. Cover and pulse a few times until all ingredients are mixed evenly. Add the Earth Balance in small chunks and spread evenly across the top of the dry mixture. Cover and pulse about 12 times (in one second pulses). The mixture should resemble a coarse meal. (If you are doing this by hand put the dry ingredients in a big bowl and whisk until combined. Then, using two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut the Earth Balance into the dry mixture until it resembles a coarse meal.)

Transfer the dough to a large bowl. Using a spatula, stir in the pumpkin, vanilla, and about half of the coconut milk. Add more coconut milk a little at time until the dough begins to form. Don’t worry if you don’t use all the milk or if you need more. The object is to produce a dough that’s a tiny bit soft and sticky but still able to hold together when formed and cut.

Lightly dust the countertop or pastry mat with sorghum or rice flour and turn the dough out onto it. Form it into a circle about an inch to an inch and half high and 7 or 8 inches across. Using a sharp knife cut the dough into 8 wedges and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. The scones should be lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack when cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile mix the maple syrup and confectioners sugar until smooth. Depending on taste you may want to add more maple syrup or more sugar. There really isn’t any specific way to make this—it’s right when you like it! Drizzle over the warm scones and serve.

*Note: I used Authentic Foods Gluten-Free Multi Blend Flour

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Banana Walnut Oat Pancakes

Healthy breakfasts are so important and, yet, if you have a busy schedule and limited diet it can be difficult to come up with a reasonable variety 365 days a year—on an on into perpetuity.

If you divide my standard “go to” breakfasts - oatmeal, muffin in a mug, smoothies, scones - into that number you’ll see I’m eating each about 90 times a year. Boring! OK, occasionally I’ll make myself veggies or eat leftovers that might make a passable breakfast food.

Some days I just need something new. I’m all ears if you have some favorite breakfasts to recommend.

Very happily, this weekend I made a batch of these wonderful pancakes. And, there’s a few in the freezer as a test to see how they’ll heat up for a quick weekday morning meal. If that works I can reduce my redundancy to, let’s see, closer to 70 times a year. So much better!

These pancakes are not very sweet. They’re perfect with maple syrup, jam, or just plain.

Banana Walnut Oat Pancakes

1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons hot water

3/4 cups sorghum flour

1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup hemp milk

1/2 large or a whole small banana

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of nutmeg

1 teaspoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons grapeseed oil

1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup walnuts

Mix the flax seed and 3 tablespoons warm water together and set aside. It will become somewhat gelatinous.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, oats, and baking powder and set it aside.

In a blender mix together all the remaining ingredients except the walnuts. When they’re thoroughly mixed you can drop in the walnuts and pulse it a few times until they’re chopped up a bit. If you don’t want to mess around with a blender you’ll need to mash the banana and whisk it with the milk until smooth. Then whisk in the spices, oil, vanilla, brown sugar and flax gel. Chop the walnuts and stir in.

Pour about half of the wet mixture into the bowl with the flour and oats. Gently begin to stir together. Pour in the remaining wet ingredients and gently mix until everything is fully incorporated. At this point you can assess the texture of the batter. It will be thick. If you prefer thinner batter add some water a few tablespoons at a time until you reach the right consistency.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or skillet over medium high heat. You’ll know when it’s ready if a drop of water sizzles or dances over the surface. Scoop small ladles of batter onto the griddle, flip when you start to see bubbles forming and the pancake is browned.

Serve warm with banana slices, walnuts and maple syrup!

This recipe makes about 12 three-inch pancakes.

Note: You can probably substitute your favorite GF flour mix for the sorghum, any non-dairy (or dairy if you can have it) milk for hemp milk, and any vegetable oil for the grapeseed oil. Also, I used a very small amount of Earth Balance to grease the griddle and it worked perfectly.

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Update on Nov 22, 2009 by Nancy Kohler

For more GF breakfast ideas visit “What Can I Eat That’s Gluten-Free” posted on The Gluten-Free Homemaker.