Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Scones

This recipe is the result of my taking three different recipes, which all had elements I liked, and combining them together.  Of course, if you do not have to be gluten free, simply use all-purpose flour instead of the GF Blend below and omit the xanthan gum.  I do think this is a fantastic recipe and I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do.

Yield: 8 scones

GF All-Purpose Flour Blend:

* 2 cups brown rice flour

* 1.5 cups sorghum flour

* 3 cups tapioca flour or starch

* 2 tsp xanthan gum

Scone ingredients:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour (regular or GF blend)

* 1/2 tsp additional xanthan gum for GF scones

* 1/2 cup brown sugar

* 1/2 tsp nutmeg

* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

* 1/4 tsp ground ginger

* 1/4 tsp allspice

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 1/4 tsp baking soda

* 1/4 tsp salt

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

* 1/3 cup buttermilk

* 1/2 cup pumpkin

* 1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze ingredients:

* 8 oz (1/2 lb) powdered sugar

* 1/8 to 1/4 cup milk (start with less)

* 2 Tbsp butter, melted

* Dash of salt

Spiced Glaze ingredients:

* 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

* 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

* Dash ginger

* Dash ground cloves

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, mix together the dry scone ingredients: flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2) Cut butter into small pieces and cut into flour mixture with two forks or a pastry cutter.  Mixture should look like crumbs or sand.

3) In a medium bowl, mix together the pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Add this to the flour mixture and mix until the dough comes together into a rough ball.  If the dough seems too dry, add a splash of buttermilk and mix some more.

4) Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead 4-5 times until a cohesive ball is formed.  Flatten into a disk about 1.5" thick.

5) Cut the disk into 8 wedges, transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

6) Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

7) Transfer baked scones to a cookie rack to cool completely before icing.

8) When the scones are cool, make the icing.  Combine all icing ingredients into a bowl and stir until smooth.  You might want to start with the smaller amount of milk indicated, and add a bit more as you go until you get the texture you want.  It should be somewhat thick, but able to drizzle or spread.

9) Spoon some icing onto each scone and encourage it to cover the whole top with the spoon.  Use about 1/2 to 2/3 of the glaze for this step.

10) To make the Spiced Glaze to drizzle over the top, add all the Spiced Glaze ingredients to the remaining Glaze and mix well.  Transfer to a plastic baggie, then cut a small bit off one corner of the baggie.  Use this to pipe a drizzle of Spiced Glaze across the top of each scone.