Whole wheat sweet potato scones

There are a lot of great things about fall.

Apple picking. Scarves. Changing leaves. Crisp, cool air. Cute boots. Sleeping with the windows open, snuggled under a pile of blankets. Structured jackets. Apple cider.

Mostly clothes and food.

Fall clothes > summer clothes.

And my absolute favorite fall foods? Sweet potatoes and squash. My family pretty much lives off them from September through Christmas.

Especially sweet potatoes.

I suppose it is fitting that one of my parents’ dogs kind of resembles a sweet potato…

So. These scones.

The scones themselves are nicely spiced and not overly sweet. The whole wheat flour lends a nutty taste and texture that is only enhanced by the presence of chopped pecans.

They’re pretty darn good as-is.

But why stop there?

Why not drizzle them with a brown sugar vanilla glaze?

That’s what I thought.

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Scones with Brown Sugar Vanilla Glaze

Makes 8 scones

For the scones:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup buttermilk + 1 tablespoon, divided

1/2 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand with a few pea-sized pieces. Stir in the pecans.

In a separate bowl, wisk together the sweet potato, 1/2 cup of buttermilk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture; stir until just combined. On a floured surface, knead the dough 7 or 8 times. Pat the dough into a circle 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges and transfer onto your prepared baking sheet. Brush with remaining 1 tablespoon of buttermilk.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden. Transfer to a rack to cool.

While scones are cooling, whisk together powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and milk for your glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cooled scones.

**Tip: Don’t have any buttermilk? Don’t let that stop you from enjoying these scones! Simply take 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice, and add enough milk to equal 1 cup of liquid. Allow to sit for 5 minutes and – voila! – buttermilk.