Whenever you walk into Starbucks, it's hard not to notice all the treats behind the glass. If you're like me, you do a little squeal inside when all the new fall and Christmas treats and drinks are released. While they aren't too bad to have once in a blue moon, if you're like me, you'd like to have them more often and not blow a day's worth of calories.
A traditional Pumpkin Scone from Starbucks has 480 calories, 17 g fat, 78 g of carbs, 43 g of sugar and 6 g protein. Sigh...that's like having a couple of chocolate bars. Since all their treats are made with wheat (I eat gluten-free), I'll typically avoid it all together. As you can see below, my version is not only healthier than the Starbucks version, it has half the calories (or more if you skip the icing), half the fat, 1/3 of the carbs and 84 per cent less sugar! Woah. To be honest, they don't even taste "that" healthy, so that's a big win in my book!
So, I wanted to create a scone that I'd eat too...and guess what...we like it even better than the original. I tested them side by side.
Sure the icing isn't as thick as the Starbucks one, but I like it better this way anyway. You actually taste more of the scone, and less of the icing.
Pumpkin Scones {Healthier Copycat Starbucks Recipe}
Makes 8 scones
Ingredients
For the scones
1 1/2 cups oat flour
6 packets Stevia
2 scoops (or 1/2 cup) whey protein, vanilla (could also sub with an additional 1/2 cup oat flour)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger (powdered)
1/4 tsp cloves
3 Tbsp milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used canned pumpkin)
2 egg whites (1/4 cup carton kind)
1/3 cup (5 Tbsp) cold butter
For the sugar glaze
1/3 cup icing (confectioners) sugar
2 tsp milk
3 tsp corn starch (optional)
1-2 packets Stevia (optional)
* I added the cornstarch and stevia to give it a little more volume without adding extra sugar, but you can omit if you want.
For the spiced glaze
1/4 cup icing (confectioners) sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp of each cloves, nutmeg & ginger
2 tsp milk
Directions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients with a fork (oat flour through to cloves). In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, 3 Tbsp milk and egg whites and whisk until smooth.
With a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and cut the butter until its about the size of peas.
Add in the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula until just combined. Mixture will be sticky. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface (I used about 1-2 Tbsp oat flour on my counter), and shape it into a rectangle. You'll want to handle it as little as possible, as it will be sticky. Cut into 8 triangles with a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Cut once through the middle length ways, then once width ways to make 4 large rectangular squares. Then cut each square in half diagonally to make triangles. It will look like this...
Then with a spatula, carefully transfer each scone to your baking sheet (I lined my baking sheet with parchment paper). Place in the hot 425 degree F oven and bake for 12-13 minutes until its golden around the edges.
Allow to cool completely, and meanwhile, mix together the icings in separate bowls. Using a pastry brush, brush the scones with the white glaze (or use a fork and drizzle them). Allow to set for about 5-10 minutes. Then using a fork or spoon, drizzle the spiced glaze over-top of the white.
*With the regular glaze, I used a pastry brush to lightly brush over the scones. If you want them heavily iced, you'll have to double the regular glaze recipe, as its a very light coating. But I wanted to keep the sugar down, and with the spiced icing as well, I find it plenty sweet enough.
Nutrition (per scone without glazes) Calories: 168 Fat: 9.4 g Carbs: 14.2 g Fiber: 2.1 g Sugars: 0.3 g Sodium: 452 mg Protein: 8.7 g
Nutrition (per scone with glazes) Calories: 198 Fat: 9.4 g Carbs: 21.7 g Fiber: 2.1 g Sugars: 7.5 g Sodium: 452 mg Protein: 8.7 g
