Pumpkin Rye Scones

These scones bring together pumpkin, pecans, warm spices, and a touch of dark chocolate in a beautiful medley perfect for fall and winter gatherings. They make for a hearty breakfast and start with a cracked rye porridge that keeps these scones soft and moist. This recipe was generously shared by Josh Johnson, a pastry chef with Guittard Chocolate and friend of Janie's Mill.

Yield: ~8 large scones

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup (70 g) Janie's Mill Cracked Rye 
• 1 cup (225 g) water
• ½ cup (110 g) canned pumpkin or pumpkin/squash puree (see note)
• 4 teaspoons (28 g) honey
• 1 cup (122 g) Janie's Mill All-Purpose Flour
• ⅔ cup (65 g) Janie's Mill Dark or Light Rye Flour 
• ¼ cup (46 g) sugar
• 2 ¼ teaspoons (10 g) baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons (3.5 g) cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon (1.75 g) ground cloves
• ¾ teaspoon (1.75 g) ground ginger
• 1 stick (115 g) butter (cold, cubed)
• 1 ½ cups (150 g) roasted pecans, roughly chopped
• 1 cup (160 g) Guittard Soleil d’ Or 38% milk chocolate, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Cook the cracked rye and water together until the rye is tender and the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
2. Remove from the stove, add the honey and pumpkin, then set aside to cool completely.
3. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in cubed, cold butter. 
4. Using your hands or a paddle attachment, cut butter into the dry ingredients until pea sized butter appears.
5. Add chopped chocolate, pecans, and cooked rye mixture.
6. Mix until well combined, avoid over mixing. The dough will be sticky.
7. Line a 9-inch round or square pan with plastic wrap. Empty the dough into the lined pan and press to evenly fill the pan. It should be about 1 inch thick. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
   
8. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F. (350°F convection)
9. Turn chilled dough out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and remove plastic wrap. Cut scones into triangles and top with turbinado sugar. No need to separate the scones before baking. Bake for 30-35 minutes (16-18 minutes convection) until the center springs back when lightly pressed.

These scones will keep at room temperature for 3-4 days. 

Baker's Notes:

• Feel free to play around with the spices in this recipe or substitute the pecans for any nuts you have on hand such as walnuts, almonds, or pepitas.
• Cook and puree your own pumpkin or winter squash in place of the canned pumpkin for a stronger pumpkin flavor. Make sure to cook out most of the moisture to achieve a consistency close to that of canned pumpkin so your dough isn't too sticky.