Pumpkin Scones

I love pumpkin, and a nice scone is hard to beat. Put them together and you have a scrumptious morning treat, great with your coffee.

(For the above picture, I made the recipe into 12 smaller scones, instead of the 6 large ones that the recipe instructs)

Ingedients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half (I've made it with just plain milk - works just fine)
1 large egg
6 tablespoons cold butter

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half-and-half (milk), and eggs.
4. Cut butter into cubes then add it to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry knife or a fork to combine butter with dry ingredients. Continue mixing until no chunks of butter are visible. You can also use a food processor: Pulse butter into dry ingredients until it is the texture of cornmeal or coarse sand.
5. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then form the dough into a ball. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1 -inch thick rectangle that is about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide. Use a large knife or a pizza wheel 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. (NOTE: I've shaped the dough into a longer, thinner rectangle to end up with 12 smaller scones - they puff up a good amount)
6. Bake for 14(ish) minutes on a baking sheet. Scones should begin to turn light brown.
7. Optional: I made a simple icing of butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to drizzle on the scones when cooled.