The best pumpkin spice item is the Scone, fools

Fall is here, which means a deluge of questionable pumpkin spice items, along with questionable opinions on their merits. I’m here to tell you that the best pumpkin spice item is not a Starbucks latte is not bread, and it is certainly not the fucking parody that is there Cup of Noodles flavored with pumpkin and spices, or seltzer Bud Light. No, the best of all pumpkin spice is the humble scone, a lightly sweet pastry with a thin frosting frosting on top.

Unlike a PSL, which is just a sugar-filled attempt to disguise the taste of burnt coffee beans to the point that they look and taste like charcoal, the Pumpkin Scone – which is right there in the case, looking at you – offers just the right level of smoothness. While on its own merits you may consider a scone too dry to eat, remember that it is not meant to be eaten on its own. No, you pair this scone with a nice hot cup of coffee, preferably a light roast with a fair amount of cream, if we’re going to be precise. The frosting offers a sweet touch, while the blend of coffee and a light pumpkin flavor hits all the right notes.

If you can’t find a pumpkin scone, make your own

For some weird and unfathomable reason, Pumpkin Scone is only available in select Starbucks stores, which can make it difficult to obtain. Fortunately, this is a situation that can be easily fixed, as it is quite easy to create your own.

Homemade pumpkin scone tastes even better than what you can buy, anyway, although it does require a bit more work (not to mention a higher level of self-control, in order to avoid eat the whole lot). There’s also the added benefit of being able to adjust the spice level and amount of frosting, in case you want an extra kick and / or a different level of sweetness.

There are a number of pumpkin scone recipes out there, most of which have a similar set of ingredients / instructions. A good representative recipe is this, from damn delicious, which helpfully provides photos of each step. The only change I suggest making for this particular recipe is adding a little pumpkin puree (about a tablespoon) with a spicy glaze, both for color and taste.

Making pumpkin scones is pretty easy

First, assemble a dry mixture of flour, spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda, then cut cold butter in it. Add the liquid ingredients (pumpkin puree, egg, vanilla extract and a little milk or cream) and stir to form a stiff paste.

Experience tells me that while you are stirring the dough there will come a point where you will wonder if you need to add a little more liquid – ignore that instinct. To make a firm dough is just adding barely enough liquid for the ingredients to come together.

Next, lightly knead the dough on a floured surface, spreading it out into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Cut the dough into triangles, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 10-12 minutes at 400 ° F. The scones will go up, so be sure to space them out.

Once they are completely cooked, let them cool for a few minutes, then dip them in a white icing made with icing sugar and cream or milk, covering the top of the scones completely. Once the icing has set, pour the spicy icing (made with icing sugar, cream or milk and spices) on top. If you don’t have any icing bags or nozzles, pour the spicy icing into a plastic ziplock bag and cut a small hole in the corner.