Pumpkin Scones
These pumpkin scones are delicious, soft, and packed with pumpkin flavor. Incredibly easy to make and a perfect breakfast or dessert for fall!
Earlier this week I shared my pumpkin cheesecake recipe with you and I couldn’t help but share another pumpkin treat today – these delicious pumpkin scones!
Sometimes scones can be associated with being a little bland or dry. But, if you know how to make them correctly, they’re actually quite delicious and easy to make too. Not only are these scones easy, but they’re also:
- Soft, light, and fluffy
- Packed with pumpkin spice flavor
- Topped with a delicious maple cinnamon glaze!
In today’s post, I’m breaking down everything you need to know to make these scones. If you love pumpkin, I guarantee you will love this recipe!
How To Make Pumpkin Scones
To make this pumpkin scone recipe, start by whisking together your dry ingredients. For the dry ingredients you will be using all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Next, cube some unsalted butter into small pieces, add it to the dry ingredients, and cut it in with a pastry cutter. You want to see smaller pea-sized pieces of butter, but a few larger pieces are fine too.
One important note on the butter: Make sure to use cold butter! Why? Once the scones go into the oven, the cold pieces of butter will melt, creating little steam pockets in your scones. This is what creates soft and light scones!
Next, whisk together your wet ingredients – pumpkin puree, heavy whipping cream, and pure vanilla extract. Again, it’s totally fine to use cold ingredients here too. You may notice there’s no egg in these scones and it’s not a mistake. The pumpkin puree acts as a binding agent which eliminates the need for an egg.
Then, just add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix the two together. The mixture may be little crumbly at first, so feel free to use your hands to work the dough together if needed.
Once the dough is mixed together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, form it into a ball, then pat it into a circle that’s about 7 to 8 inches in diameter or 3/4-inch thick. Use a sharpe knife to cut the scones into 8 equal sized pieces, then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and freeze them for 10 minutes.
While the extra step of chilling the scones isn’t necessary, it will help ensure that your butter is cold when the scones go into the oven. Remember, the colder your butter – the better!
Then, just bake the scones for about 20 minutes or until the tops are set and they’re cooked through. Let them cool slightly and then top them with the glaze.
I used a maple cinnamon glaze on top of these scones because it pairs so well with the pumpkin flavor. Feel free to leave out the maple syrup if you don’t have any and just use a little extra milk in place of it!
Freezing Instructions
If you want to make these scones ahead of time, you have a couple of different options. You can either freeze the baked scones or freeze the dough and bake them later. Here’s a simple breakdown for how to do both:
- To freeze the baked scones: Let them cool completely, wrap each one tightly with plastic wrap, and store them in a freezer bag or freezer-friendly storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw the scones, place them on the counter a few hours ahead of time and let them come to room temperature, then add the glaze.
- To freeze the scone dough: For this option, I recommend cutting out the scone dough, placing it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and freezing the triangles for one to two hours (this will prevent them from sticking together). Then, store them in a freezer bag or storage container in the freezer for 2 to 3 months. When you are ready to make the scones, bake them at 400°F (204°C) for 22 to 26 minutes. If the scones begin to brown too much on top, place a piece of foil over them until they are done.
Baking Tips
- When measuring your flour, make sure to spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Too much flour can lead to scones that are dense and dry.
- Don’t have any pumpkin pie spice? You can use my homemade pumpkin pie spice.
- Make sure to use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Be sure to use cold ingredients, especially cold butter! This will ensure that your scones turn out incredibly soft and flaky.
- Don’t overwork the dough. This can overdevelop the gluten and cause these pumpkin spice scones to turn out tough.
More Scone Recipes To Try!
- Classic Scones (includes 4 flavor variations)
- Strawberry Cream Scones
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Apple Cinnamon Scones
Pumpkin Scones
Ingredients
For the scones:
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 and ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter , cubed into small pieces
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) cold heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup (120 grams) pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the maple cinnamon glaze:
- 1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk use more as needed
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
To make the pumpkin scones:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or fork to cut it into the dry ingredients until you have small pea-sized crumbs.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the heavy whipping cream, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract until fully combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. The mixture may be a little crumbly at this point, so I recommend using your hands to work it together.
- Scoop the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and work it together in a ball, then flatten it into a 7 to 8-inch circle that's about 3/4-inch thick. Cut the dough into 8 equal-sized pieces and place them on the prepared baking sheet, making sure to leave a little room between each one.
- Place the baking sheet with the scones in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until the tops of the scones are set and cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
To make the maple cinnamon glaze:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, milk, and ground cinnamon until well combined. If the glaze is too thick add 1/2 teaspoon of milk at a time until it has reached your desired consistency.
- Top the scones with the glaze and set aside to harden for 10 to 15 minutes, then serve, and enjoy.
Thoughts on adding ginger?
Pumpkin pie spice does have ginger in it, but it would be okay to add a little more fresh or ground ginger.
Hi Danielle. Can you use brown sugar instead of granulated for these pumpkin scones? How would that change the taste and texture of them?
Yes, that would be fine! It will add a slight molasses flavor to the scones, but they would still taste good.
Thank you so much!
Delicious – first attempt almost perfect, however, I will continue to make to perfect. I enjoy your recipes..
Thank you, Patricia! So glad you enjoyed the scones!