It's the Great Pumpkin Scone Charlie Brown!

I. L O V E. Fall.

And for the past many years I have been without. No colors changing, no pumpkin patches, no caramel apples, no hay rides or hot apple cider and smores while snuggling around a roaring fire.

Is it any wonder I went completely crazy and escaped back to the Midwest?

Especially for me who absolutely LOVES HALLOWEEN. I had a good 5 boxes of Halloween decor that came with me to Chicago. Including a life size skeleton which would have sat next to me for the 30 hour drive had I not been lucky enough to procure a co-pilot in Albuquerque... (The labor there is so CHEAP!) Sigh, I do regret not slapping him behind the wheel just for photo's sake...

So September came and went and then here came October and suddenly something in me clicked. I ACTUALLY get to enjoy FALL! I get to bake with pumpkin and not die of heat exhaustion when the 375 degree oven makes my AC turn on in October... I get to enjoy FRESH APPLES! No such thing as fresh apples in AZ... Unless if by fresh you consider 3 week old grocery store pithy vile things. My carved pumpkin wont ROT within 3 days from the SUNS GAMMA RAYS of DEATH. No more MICROWAVE smores... Yay!

But really, bottom line? Pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin!

In the coming weeks we plan on buying some pie pumpkins so we can roast our own and make fresh puree, but till then, to satisfy my cravings, I went and bought myself that old standby can of Libby's pumpkin and baked up some Scary Chocolate Drizzle Pumpkin Scones.

I call them "Scary" because you can easily eat the whole batch... and because unbeknown to me, I bought the last can of pumpkin in the tri-state area due to a "pumpkin shortage".

Gasp!! The horror...

The goods:

1 1/2 C All purpose flour
1/2 C Cake flour
2 T sugar
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t ginger
6 T butter
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 C pumpkin puree
1/3 C buttermilk
1/4 C maple syrup
1 t vanilla

The deal:

Preheat oven to 375°

Cut the butter into small pieces and chill out in freezer.

Cut the cream cheese into small cubes and chill in freezer with the butter. You want the cheese to be slightly frozen.

Mix together the pumpkin, buttermilk, syrup and vanilla until well blended and then also chill out in freezer. Of course as I am quickly learning, you could also just put it out onto your 32° window ledge if you happen to live in Chicago by the LAKE...

Now, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.

Retrieve the butter and blend it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or your fingers. This mixture should look like coarse crumbs.

Now do the same with the cream cheese, only less vigorously. You want to see the cream cheese chunks. Do not pulverize them.

Okay, add the buttermilk mixture to the flour and mix just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix. Remember. Want to see chunks of cheese... Cheese good.

Dump this mixture out onto a lightly floured surface, knead a few times to form a flat circle about 1.5" thick and 7"- 8" round. (I tried saying "form a disc" but I kept typing in dick dick dick and I am TRYING, to almost no avail, to keep this site family friendly... god dammit...)

Now cut this circle into 8 pie slices and place on a cookie sheet and put that cookie sheet on top of another sheet so that the bottoms of the scones do not burn and slide it all into your oven...

Bake at 375° for approx 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool. (As opposed to leaving in the oven to cool which, yea, doesn't work...)

The Chocolate Crack Glaze

While the scones are cooling pour 4 oz chocolate chips into a glass bowl. Heat 1/2 c of heavy whipping cream to a boil. Pour cream over the chocolate and slowly stir until blended. Add one T of butter and stir till smooth. Drizzle over scones.

Lick spoon.

Lick bowl.

Fall into sugar coma.

Bribe your friends and family into doing anything you want with the mere promise of one of these amazing scones.