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Streusel-Topped Maple-Pumpkin Scones

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THE GRIM READER, the fourteenth book in the Bibliophile Mystery series by Kate Carlisle, brings the reader back to the delightful setting of Dharma, a quaint wine country town situated in Sonoma County in Northern California. A long-time fan, I’ve greatly enjoyed previous books that has protagonist, Brooklyn, and her new husband, Derek, surrounded by their family and close friends. THE GRIM READER brings them all back together for the first annual Book Festival in Dharma. The close-knit relationships Brooklyn and Derek’s family have together is heartwarming. I love how they’re supportive of each other with nary a jealous or snide remark to be seen within the in-laws. In fact, Brooklyn and Derek’s mothers have become best friends and together they are a force to be reckoned with. I greatly enjoyed seeing Brooklyn’s mom, Becky, take center stage in this story, which helps give the reader glimpses of why Brooklyn is who she’s become in adulthood. One of the greatest strengths in this series is the character development Ms. Carlisle brings throughout the arc of the books and builds on that development with each passing page.

While Brooklyn and Derek’s families may be kindhearted, caring individuals (and most of the community is as well!) a greedy predator is gobbling up local vineyards and using the harvests to produce inferior boxed wine. He goes out of his way to harass and threaten the Book Festival committee, particularly, Becky. Early on in the book I thought I knew which way the mystery would go but Ms. Carlisle throws in several twists to keep the reader on their toes. I love how she intertwines a rare mishandled first edition copy of Little Women into the mystery along with scenes showcasing Brooklyn’s bookbinding and restoration skills. With plenty of suspicious suspects to keep the reader guessing, the plot unfolds at a nice pace until the dramatic reveal. The author does a great job of wrapping up all the threads in the story into an entertaining conclusion that left me wishing the next book in the series was ready for me to read!

Brooklyn and Derek share many meals with their family and close friends during their visit to Dharma, especially breakfast. I was delighted to see the Ms. Carlisle provides several mouthwatering breakfast recipes at the back of the book, all which sound fabulous! I was drawn to the recipe for Streusel-topped Pumpkin Scones (I’ve been on a pumpkin kick for a while now!) and am so glad I decided to try it. My granddaughter isn’t a fan of scones but she gave these two thumbs up and went back for seconds. The sweet streusel complements the cinnamon in the scone without being overly crumbly, while the mild pumpkin brings color and good texture to the treat. She liked that these were moist and sweet enough on their own without having to drench them in additional butter and jam making them perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast or snack.

 

Sweet streusel complements the cinnamon in these Maple-Pumpkin Scones without being overly crumbly. Mild pumpkin brings color and a moist texture to these tea time treats. Recipe shared with permission granted by Kate Carlisle, author of THE GRIM READER.

 

 

Amazon Synopsis

Brooklyn and her new hunky husband, Derek, are excited to be guests at Dharma’s first annual Book Festival. The entire town is involved and Brooklyn’s mom Rebecca is taking charge. In addition to all of her other event related duties, she’s got Brooklyn doing rare book appraisals and is also staging Little Women, the musical to delight the festival goers. If that wasn’t enough, she and Meg—Derek’s mom—will have a booth where they read palms and tarot cards.

Brooklyn couldn’t be prouder of her mom’s do-it-all attitude so when a greedy local businessman who seems intent on destroying Dharma starts harassing Rebecca, Brooklyn is ready to take him down. Rebecca is able to hold her own with the nasty jerk until one of her fellow festival committee members is brutally murdered and the money for the festival seems to have vanished into thin air.
Things get even more personal when one of Brooklyn’s nearest and dearest is nearly run down in cold blood. Brooklyn and Derek go into attack mode and the pressure is on to catch a spineless killer before they find themselves skipping the festival for a funeral.

 

 

 

 

A special thanks to Kate Carlisle for providing one lucky winner with a print advance copy of THE GRIM READER! Giveaway is limited to U.S. residents. Contest ends Sunday, June 14, 2020 at 11:59 pm PST. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet streusel complements the cinnamon in these Maple-Pumpkin Scones without being overly crumbly. Mild pumpkin brings color and a moist texture to these tea time treats. Recipe shared with permission granted by Kate Carlisle, author of THE GRIM READER.

Print
Streusel-Topped Maple-Pumpkin Scones
Ingredients
Maple Sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Streusel Topping
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons maple-sugar, packed
  • 1 tablespoon butter
Scones
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 2-1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup maple-sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup cold butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon cream, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Maple Sugar

  1. Stir together maple and sugar with a fork until well combined. Set aside.

Streusel Topping

  1. Whisk the flour and sugar until well combined. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter. Set aside.

Scones
  1. Place pumpkin in a sieve over a bowl so the pumpkin will drain. If possible, do this the night before and put the sieve and bowl in the fridge because cold ingredients make for flaky scones.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put in the fridge.
  3. Sift together the flour through nutmeg. Whisk in the sugar. Cut the butter into ¼-inch chunks. Add to the dry ingredients and cut in with a pastry blender or two butter knives until the mixture has a crumb-like texture.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, pumpkin, ¼ cup of cream and vanilla. Fold into the dry ingredients just until it pulls together into a ball. If necessary, add cream one teaspoon at a time. Don’t overwork.
  5. Place the ball on the parchment-lined baking sheet and pat down into a 10-inch circle. Slice into 8 wedges and pull apart so each scone is separate. Brush with cream. Top with streusel. Bake until scones are brown on bottom and streusel is golden on top, about 20-25 minutes.

Sweet streusel complements the cinnamon in these Maple-Pumpkin Scones without being overly crumbly. Mild pumpkin brings color and a moist texture to these tea time treats. Recipe shared with permission granted by Kate Carlisle, author of THE GRIM READER.

 

 

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

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Sweet streusel complements the cinnamon in these Maple-Pumpkin Scones without being overly crumbly. Mild pumpkin brings color and a moist texture to these tea time treats. Recipe shared with permission granted by Kate Carlisle, author of THE GRIM READER.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

 

I was provided an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

Sweet streusel complements the cinnamon in these Maple-Pumpkin Scones without being overly crumbly. Mild pumpkin brings color and a moist texture to these tea time treats. Recipe shared with permission granted by Kate Carlisle, author of THE GRIM READER.

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76 thoughts on “Streusel-Topped Maple-Pumpkin Scones”

  2. I attended a recent book festival that went virtual due to COVID19, and it was great! I’ve also attended a number of virtual book launches and virtual Noir at the Bar. I’d love to see online options continuing in the future as it makes these events far more accessible.

    The Grim Reader sounds great, as does the streusel!

    • I love that, “Noir at the Bar”! How fabulous. Glad you were able to attend the virtual book festival, Katherine. Murder is probably somewhat less likely when everyone’s participating from home. 😉

  4. I’ve never been to a book festival, but I didn’t go to a book event in Chicago last year and I met alot of authors and I purchased books there.

  5. I love Scones! Thanks for another great recipe. I attended a book festival in VA BCH and had a fabulous time. Made some new author friends. Can’t wait to read GRIM READER.

    • Thank you, Mel. 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy the scones–and THE GRIM READER. <3 Two of my other favorite recipes that I included are the avocado toast and the breakfast grain bowl. Mmmmmm….

  7. Yes, I have attended book festivals. They were so much fun!! Not for my wallet lol but hey, there are far worse addictions than books! I MUST make the Streusel-Topped Maple-Pumpkin Scones! Maple and Pumpkin! What’s not to love?!!

    • Ooooh, I hope you’ll love them as much as I do, Dawn. Your house will smell amazing, I guarantee it. Flour, butter, and maple sugar… mmmm….

    • LOL I knew I’d hook at least a few people with “maple.” It’s soooo good. THE GRIM READER is set during the autumn season, and these really are the perfect autumn treat. Not bad in the summer, either, though! 😉

  12. i haven’t added a book festival. Maybe because i’m not much for crowds in general.

  13. I have never been to a book festival unless you count the ones sponsored by public libraries to raise funds. I’ve been to lots of those, even stopping by libraries while on vacation. They sound like great fun!

    • Isn’t the cover great? I owe such a debt of gratitude to the cover artists. They are SO talented! BTW, I’m going to be giving away four jigsaw puzzles featuring the cover of THE GRIM READER over the next four weeks. The signup will be in the Secret Room at KateCarlisle.com starting Thursday.

  18. I have for school when I was a teacher which was work related. I loved that one, but never one for pleasure. That would be fun! Thanks for the chance to win!

  19. Does malice Domestic count? If so, then I have attended a book festival. Otherwise, no – and I would love to. thanks so much for the chance to win an advance copy of The Grim Reader.

    • Ooooh, I love Malice Domestic. I’d certainly count that as a book event, but very different from a local book festival. Both are wonderful, so I’d encourage you to try the latter if you get the chance.

  21. I have a attended a book fair for for work as a teacher and loved but never a book festival for pleasure. That would be fun! Thanks for the chance to win!

  22. I have always wanted to attend book fairs but other than Scholastic book fairs in my kids schools years ago, I haven’t been to any 🙁 Thanks for the chance to win!

  23. I’ve never attended a book festival. Always wanted to. Never had an opportunity.

  25. I haven’t been to a book festival. I was planning on attending one this year in St. Augustine Florida to finally meet an author I have been following, but it was canceled.

  26. We went to the Miami Book Fair several years ago. Got to hear a talk by Carl Hiaasen. He was just as entertaining as we had expected.

  30. Yes, I have been to a huge book festival in Tuscon, Arizona where I met Kathy and Brandon Reichs. There were so many authors there I did not have time to meet all of them. It was great.

  31. Book fairs are awesome, although I haven’t been to one in many years! Happy Reading to all!

  34. Yes! The L.A. Times festival of books used to be in my neighborhood. It was fun to be surrounded by hundreds of bookish vendors and thousands and thousands of book lovers.

  39. I love the title of this book & cute cover!. Thanks for the recipe, sounds yummy. I’ve been to several book fairs, book signings & several festivals that did have a couple of authors signing/selling their books but not a book festival. I would love to go to one for sure! Thanks & stay safe everyone.

    • Attending a book festival is on my bucket list. It may seem small but I live in a small town so I would have to travel for something like that and I would want to visit a large one! Can’t wait to try out the recipe, sounds perfect for fall.

  40. I have never attended one, but would like to sometime! It certainly sounds like a fun place to go!

  41. I’ve never been to a book festival. I’d like to, it sounds like fun but we don’t have any around here. Closest we get is the new independent book store had some local authors talks now and then, those are really neat.

  43. I have never made it to a book festival. I almost did but I ended up sick. Thank you for a chance to win a print advanced copy of The Grim Reader.

  45. I’ve never been to a real book festival, just some little book fairs at school as a kid.

  46. I’ve never been to a book festival. My sister went to one in Europe. It was hugh and many countries were represented. I was just a little envious of her because I wanted to be there with her. It was a World’s Fair Book Festival. It looked amazing in the pictures she took. My pocket book would have been hurting if I had been there.
    Thank you for the chance to be selected. The book looks like a winner along with the scone recipe. YUM!

  49. I absolutely LOVE book fairs! Thank you for a great post… can’t wait to try the scones (Vegan Style ?).

    Cheers-
    Kelly Braun

  50. Scholastic book fair does that count? The recipe sounds delicious. The book sounds interesting and fun to read. Thank you for the chance

  51. I have never attended one but hopefully in the future I will be able to get to one! I love this cover! I can’t wait to try the recipe! Thanks for the chance!

  54. Saving the recipe!! Thanks! No, I’ve never attended a book fair. Thanks for the chance!

  57. No, I don’t believe I have ever gotten to attend an actual book festival. I would like to, and maybe someday.

  58. I’ve never attended a book festival but would love to go to one. I have attended some small book fairs.

  59. No. I have not attended a book festival. I would definitely like to though. I think it would be a lot of fun.

  61. I’ve never been to a book festival, nut I’d like to. I wonder if we have any around here?

  62. While I’ve never attended a book festival, it does sound appealing! Thank you for this giveaway! betsypz(at)yahoo(dot)com

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