Pumpkin Cornmeal Scones & Cranberry Sauce

Blogging Marathon #21
Theme: Berries

Thanksgiving is almost here - two ingredients that mean Thanksgiving are pumpkin and cranberries.  Cranberry Sauce and Pumpkin Pie invariably find there way on most Thanksgiving dinner tables.  Using the flavors synonymous with this American holiday, I created this Vegetarian friendly breakfast, with eggless scones.

Cranberries are very tart and require a lot of sugar.  To help mellow the tartness without having to add obscene amounts of sugar, I used mango juice.  What we call Cranberry Sauce is essentially a cranberry jam.

Cranberry Sauce/Jam

(click here for printable recipe)
Ingredients:
3 cups cranberries
2 cups sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup mango juice
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon citric acid (optional)

Combine all of the ingredients, except the citric acid in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium and mash the cranberries.
Add the citric acid and cook another 10 minutes.

Cool.

This Thanksgiving, PLEASE make your own cranberry sauce and avoid that solid, jellied mass that comes out of the can and does not bear any resemblance to what the delicious, freshly made one can be.  It's not very time consuming and worth the effort!

I used to think I hated Cranberry Sauce since I was always served that canned stuff at friend's homes.  I discovered that I do like it, when it is freshly made.  I have now been making it for several years and every year it is flavored differently, depending what I happen to have in my refrigerator at the time.  This time, it was mango juice. For another one of my varieties with quince jam (the jam can be substituted with your favorite flavor - apricot or orange marmalade would be good), see here.

This "scone" recipe is a non traditional method, but I am still calling them scones because I baked them in a scone pan :)

Pumpkin Cornmeal Scones

(click here for printable recipe)
Ingredients:
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin puree (roast pumpkin split in half and face down on cookie sheet in 400 F oven for 45 minutes)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk, plus extra for on top
1 teaspoon sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 425 F.
Combine cornmeal, flours, sugar, salt, spices and baking powder in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, butter and buttermilk.
Make a well in the middle of the flour combination and pour the wet ingredients in the middle of the well, slowly incorporating the flour into the center, until a dough comes together.
Spray a scone pan with non stick spray and spread batter evenly. (Alternately, roll out dough on a well floured surface, and cut scones using a biscuit cutter.)
Brush the tops with buttermilk and sprinkle the teaspoon of sugar on top.

Bake for 20 minutes, until golden.

With these scones, Pumpkin Jam Cookies, Pumpkin Hazelnut Loaf, Pumpkin Bread Pudding Muffins (eggless) and Pumpkin Arepas (will be posted later in the month), I am officially pumpkined out...No more pumpkin recipes for me this year!




Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#21

...linking to Bake Fest hosted by Fun & Food Cafe, Anu's Halloween Event, Let's Cook for Halloween, What's With My Cuppa, I Love Baking, Priya's VFAM hosted by Sumee & Tea Time Treats, hosted by Lavendar & Lovage and What Kate Baked


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Chef Mireille 
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