Pumpkin Scones
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Tender, warmly spiced, and topped with a sweet pumpkin glaze, these homemade pumpkin scones are a fall favorite.
Inspired by the pumpkin scones Starbucks used to sell, this pumpkin scone recipe is packed with pumpkin flavor and warmly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Pumpkin purée and a touch of molasses make the scones especially tender—almost like pumpkin bread in scone form.
The spiced pumpkin glaze adds just the right amount of sweetness and an extra boost of pumpkin flavor. And don’t be put off by the long ingredient list; it’s mostly spices, many of which are used in both the scones and the glaze.
If you’re a scone lover, be sure to try my cream scones, blueberry scones and butterscotch pecan scones for more flavors.
“These are even better than Starbucks! The scones have amazing pumpkin pie flavor and are so light in texture!”
What You’ll Need To Make Pumpkin Scones
- Canned Pumpkin Purée: Adds moisture and pumpkin flavor to both the scones and the glaze. Be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which is already sweetened and spiced. For more ways to use up the can, check out my favorite pumpkin recipes.
- Egg & Heavy Cream: Add richness and moisture and help give the scones their tender texture.
- Molasses & Vanilla Extract: Molasses adds a subtle caramel-like depth that complements the pumpkin and warm spices; vanilla rounds out the flavor. Avoid blackstrap molasses, which is too strong and bitter here.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides the structure for the scones. For the most accurate measurement, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping directly from the bag.
- Unsalted Butter: Gives the scones their rich, buttery flavor and flaky texture. Keep it cold until you’re ready to use it; cold butter creates little pockets of steam as the scones bake, helping them rise and form flaky layers.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Sweetens the scones and adds moisture and a deeper caramel flavor.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Give the scones lift and help them bake up light and tender.
- Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves & Nutmeg: The warm spices that give the scones their classic pumpkin-spice flavor. They’re used in both the dough and the glaze. (You can sub an equal amount of pumpkin pie spice if you prefer.)
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Forms the base of the pumpkin glaze and gives it a smooth, pourable consistency.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Pumpkin Scones
Step 1: Mix the wet ingredients. Combine the pumpkin, heavy cream, egg, molasses, and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until evenly combined.
Step 3: Cut in the butter. AAdd the cold butter and pulse until the mixture looks crumbly, with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible. Those little pockets of butter help the scones bake up light and flaky.
Step 4: Mix everything together. Add the pumpkin mixture and pulse just until the dough comes together. It will be quite sticky, and you should still see a few pieces of butter—don’t overmix.
Step 5: Form the scones. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and dust the top with a little flour. Gently knead it just enough to bring it together, then divide it in half. Shape each half into a 5-inch round and cut into six wedges.
Step 6: Bake. Arrange the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until set and lightly browned on the bottoms, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool for about 15 minutes.
Step 7: Make the glaze. Combine the confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin purée, water, and spices in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth—it should be thick.
Step 8: Glaze the scones. Spoon the glaze over the scones, letting some drip down the sides. Let the glaze set for about 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
More Pumpkin Recipes For Fall
Pumpkin Scones
Ingredients
For the Scones
- ½ cup canned pumpkin purée, such as Libby's
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon molasses, such as Grandma's Original
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off, plus more for dusting
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
For the Glaze
- 1½ cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 tablespoons canned pumpkin purée
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, egg, heavy cream, molasses, and vanilla. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Process for about 20 seconds to combine; be sure no lumps of brown sugar remain.
- Cut the cold butter into ½-in (13-mm) chunks. Add to the food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal – it should look unevenly crumbly with some pea-size chunks of butter within. Add the pumpkin mixture and pulse just until the mixture comes together. The dough will be very sticky, and you should still be able to see some pea-size clumps of butter.
- Lightly flour a countertop or work surface. Dump the sticky scone dough onto the floured surface and dust the top lightly with more flour. Using your hands, gently knead the dough until it comes together into a smooth ball. Divide the dough in half. Dust your work surface with flour again and form each half into a 5-in (13-cm) circle, about ¾-in (2-cm) thick. Using a sharp knife dusted with flour, slice each circle into 6 even wedges (cut each circle in half, then cut each half into thirds). If the dough starts to stick to the knife, dust the knife with more flour. Place the wedges on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the scones for 12 to 15 minutes. To see if they are done, peek at the bottoms; they should be slightly browned. Let the scones cool on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the Confectioners' sugar, pumpkin, water, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg until smooth. The glaze should be thick.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the glaze over each scone, letting it drip a bit down the sides. Wait about 30 minutes for the glaze to set, then serve.
Notes
- The scones are best served fresh on the day they are made, but will keep well in a covered container for two days.
- Freezing Instructions: The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Put the dough wedges on a baking sheet, let set in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To freeze after baking, let the scones cool completely and store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the scones from the container and let them come to room temperature. (For best results, glaze after defrosting.) **If you have the option to freeze the scones before or after baking them, you will get the best results if you freeze them before baking.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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These scones were amazing! It will be an addiction this Autumn.
I have a question in regards of the copycat link you posted… is this the actual recipe from their website? Or you adapted it? Their video looks exactly like the same recipe but without using the food processor and a bit more brown sugar.
Either way, I have already made them twice!
Thank youuuu!
Sara
Glad you like them, Sara! Yes, from what I recall, the scone recipe is the same – I made some minor adjustments to the glaze.
These scones are incredible!! If I wanted to make the dough the night before, would you still suggest freezing the unbaked scones or could I put the dough in the fridge overnight?
Hi Kate, You can refrigerate overnight. So glad you like them!
These were delicious; however, they didn’t rise nor have the tenderness one usually finds in scones. Perhaps my baking powder was old? Also, I live at 7600′. That might also have been another issue. I look forward to hearing your comments. Bottom line: I put them in the freezer so that I didn’t eat them all. Addictive.
Yes, Sherri, take a peek at your baking powder to see how old it is as that can have an impact. It’s more likely, though, that the elevation was a factor. Unfortunately, I don’t have any wisdom to share regarding baking at high altitudes, but maybe these tips will help a bit.
I have made this recipe several times. It’s simple and tastes great.
Hi Jen,
Can I replace the molasses (I don’t have any) by honey?
Thanks!
Sure, Marine – that’s fine.
I replaced the molasses with real maple syrup – worked great!
Two questions about the glaze:
(1) Can I substitute the confectioners sugar with regular sugar? Feeling lazy about making a special grocery trip just for confectioners sugar.
(2) Is the glaze sticky? Id like to gift these scones but I’m worried they’ll get soggy if they’re not eaten immediately and that I won’t be able to stack the scones on top of each other in the gift bag.
Thank you!
Hi Val, I wouldn’t use regular sugar in place of the confectioners’ for the glaze. And the glaze is a bit sticky so the scones are really not stackable — sorry! If you’d like a pumpkin-flavored option that you can gift others, these muffins would be perfect!
Made this recipe several times and it is now my favorite pumpkin scone recipe. Easy to follow the recipe with excellent results.
Perfect texture. I made them exactly as instructed, and everything turned out beautiful. The glaze set nicely and complemented the scone very well. The powdered sugar on top set them off, and my dad said they looked professional, like they could have come from the bakery. Thank you!
I reviewed this recipe yesterday and gave it 4 stars. The glaze seemed very thick, spicy and sweet to my taste right after I made them. Today I have to change my review to 5 stars. As I left the house with most of the scones yesterday, my husband said, with a sad puppy look on his face, “You’re taking those away?” Then the ladies at my meeting raved and raved about them. When I got home, I tasted one again and it was perfect! I don’t know what happened but they tasted better a few hours after baking.
The scones came out great, with just the right amount of spice. The glaze seemed very sweet and spicy to me. It was also quite thick, more of a frosting than a glaze, but it looked just like the picture, so I think it did it right. For me, they would be fine with a thinner glaze or just a drizzle of the spicy one. My husband loved them without any glaze at all. I will definitely make them again.
THis is a good recipe but quite spiced up—larger amounts of spices than I put on my pumpkin pie! So the second time I baked it I cut the spices down: 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2tsp grd ginger, 1/4tsp grd cloves, 1/2tsp grd nutmeg. I also made 18 s ones as the 12 scones are very generous!!s