Magnolia Network star Zoe Francois, better known as Zoe Bakes, has shared one of her favorite Thanksgiving recipes with HELLO! for our Thanksgiving Issue, starring Prue Leith on our digital cover.
Zoe Bakes also detailed her one piece of advice for those baking ahead of special occasions is to "fully embrace the failures".
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Pie is the one dish that most families will already have a recipe for but on the morning of the big day, it can be nice to kick things off with baked goods that have been prepared earlier in the week.
"If you've never baked anything, maybe start with a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe. You can experiment by adding something fun and unexpected, like crushed candy or mint extract," said Zoe. "Even if they don't come out exactly how you expected they'll still be delicious."
Another option are pumpkin white chocolate scones that she often makes with her son. She described them as "a lovely twist on the breakfast classic, featuring pumpkin and white chocolate."
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"We like the fall classic flavors like pumpkin and apple," Zoe added. "I always try to add a new flare to them, but I don't stray too far from the traditions on this holiday."
One more piece of advice? "Whenever I am playing with a recipe and making any changes, I always bake a half batch, that way I can experiment without committing to a bunch of cookies I'm not in love with. Once I create a recipe I'm excited about, I bake more for my friends and family."
Zoe Bakes has shared her favorite recipe
PUMPKIN WHITE CHOCOLATE SCONES
These scones are a lovely twist on the breakfast classic, featuring pumpkin and white chocolate. You can see me make these with my son, Charlie, on my show, Zoë Bakes on Magnolia Network App and Discovery+.
Servings: 8 scones
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt plus more for cooking water
- 2 cups (336g) Sugar Pumpkin or Butternut Squash, peeled and flesh 1/4" diced
- 3 cups (390g) all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar plus more for sprinkling
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter cut into cubes and chilled
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (180ml) half-and-half
- Pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chopped (NOT coating chocolate)
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
METHOD:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add 1/2 tsp salt, and cook the pumpkin cubes for 3 minutes (they will be cooked but not mushy). Drain and cool. Reserve.
Step 3
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg. Add the butter and cut it into the flour with a pastry blender until it resembles cornmeal, but you also want to keep some of the butter in pea-sized pieces, which will create the flakiness in your scones. Fold in the cooled squash and white chocolate.
Step 4
In a small bowl, mix together the eggs and half and half. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
Step 5
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface to do the gentle kneading. You are really just turning the dough over on itself; using a bench scraper is very handy to get this done without overworking the dough. Turn the dough 12 times.
Step 6
Roll the dough into a log and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top of the scones with the cream and sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake until set in the middle and golden, about 30 minutes. \
Step 7
Allow to cool on the pan before removing to a wire rack.
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