Christmas is a time for traditions.  My mother is a keen hoarder of our old decorations, so our household has a fair few familiar faces over the festive season.  Most important are the Santas in cages, which I can’t wait to see again in a few weeks:

They are probably older than my brother and me, and I don’t think there’s even a word to describe how much we love them (nor indeed how much my brother’s fiancee hates them – she was raised to believe that foil decorations are not classy.  What a notion!).  We have similar feelings for Fat Robin, and nobody has any objections to him of course:

And then there is this masterpiece, made by my brother when he was about 8 years old and still displayed with pride now that he’s in his thirties:

But occasionally a new element can be brought in amongst the Christmas traditions, and in that vein here are some delicious vegan scones.  They are chock full of seasonal spice and taste absolutely glorious.  One of these warm for elevenses or afternoon tea while the weather rages outside is surely heaven.

Vegan Pumpkin & Cranberry Scones

Slightly adapted from Veganomicon, makes 6

Ingredients:

160g plain flour

60g whole wheat flour

90g caster sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

60g vegan margarine

80ml soy milk

130g pumpkin puree

1.5 tbsp black treacle

60g dried cranberries

Method:

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2.  Combine the flours, baking powder, bicarb and spices in a large mixing bowl.

3.  Add the vegan margarine and rub in, until it resembles breadcrumbs.

4.  Stir in the sugar.

5.  In a separate bowl, combine the soy milk, treacle and pumpkin puree.

6.  Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the sticky pumpkin mixture.  Mix well, then work in the cranberries.  (You may need to add a bit more flour to make it hold together.)

7.  On a clean work surface, pat the dough out into a circle.  Cut it into six triangles.

8.  Carefully transfer the triangles to the baking tray.

9.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

10.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.