Starbucks Pumpkin Scones and & Homemade Lara Bars

Today was delicious.  Good thing the girls and I are running 11 miles tomorrow.  I have to burn those calories off somehow! 

I started off the day making Starbucks Pumpkin Scones.   I wish I could say I created the recipe, but I’m not that good.  I did tweak it a little, but that’s about it.  A few weeks back I made these delicious scones and they were a hit with the hubby and the kids and they were super easy.  

Here’s the recipe:

Scones

-  2 cups all-purpose flour

-  7 tablespoons sugar

-  1 tablespoon baking powder

-  ½ teaspoon salt

-  ½ teaspoon cinnamon

-  6 tablespoons cold butter

-  ½ cup canned pumpkin

-  3 tablespoons half & half

-  1 large egg

Glaze

-  ½ cup powdered sugar

-  1 tablespoon soy milk or regular milk

TO MAKE THE SCONES:

                   

                  1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

                   

                  2.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.

                   

                  3.  In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.

                   

                  4.  Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet.

                   

                  5.  Bake for 15 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

                   

                  TO MAKE THE PLAIN GLAZE:.

                  1.  Mix the powdered sugar and milk together until smooth.

                  2.  When scones are cool, drizzle glaze over the top of each scone with spoon

                  .

Next on the agenda, Homemade Lara Bars.  These babies are another super easy recipe.  I didn’t make them into bars though.  My sister-in-law made her version of these using a mini muffin pan.  What a great idea!  Actually, the whole idea of homemade Lara Bars comes from Jill.  Thank you, Jill! 

• 1 cup of dates
• 1 cup of cashews

1.  Put in food processor until fully blended.  You’ll want them to be slightly moist so they don’t completely flake apart.  Scoop small portions into the mini muffin pan and press down. 

2. Pop in refrigerator for a few hours or you can pop them in the freezer for 30 minutes or so. 

Keep in refrigerated if they last that long! 

After all that, I did manage to get a 3.5 mile run in today.  It was breezy, but still great to get out there.  I took it easy today knowing I have 11 miles in store for me first thing tomorrow morning.