If you love to bake with pumpkin, then don’t go another minute without these flaky pumpkin scones topped with a decadent maple glaze. Perfect with a hot cup of coffee on a crisp fall morning.
I’ve already made pumpkin coffee cake, pumpkin cheesecake muffins, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin frappuccinos….even pumpkin coffee creamer. To be honest though, I was a little nervous to develop a recipe for classic pumpkin scones because the ones at the bakery are just so delicious. After a few tries, though, I created a buttery scone recipe that is perfectly spiced without being overly sweet. And did I mention maple icing?
Tell me About These Pumpkin Scones
- Texture: heavy cream helps produce a freshly-baked scone that is both soft and flaky in the center, crisp on top, and crumbly at the corners.
- Flavor: these buttery scones are the perfect blend of sweet and spice for the pumpkin obsessed. With every bite, you’ll get a delicious shot of pumpkin spice cut with sweet maple frosting. You can use homemade pumpkin pie spice here!
- Ease: if you follow the recipe closely, including my success tips below, this pumpkin recipe is quick and easy to make for breakfast, brunch, or anytime.
- Time: the scone dough comes together quickly in about 20 minutes and then just 25 minutes more in the oven to pumpkin perfection. Serve these scones warm right away for the best taste.
These classic pumpkin scones are inspired by my perfect, no-fail master recipe for scones. Use it to build a scone with your own favorite add-ins like lemon blueberry scones, ham & cheese scones, banana nut scones, and more! Here are all of my scone recipes.
Recipe Testing Pumpkin Scones: What Works & What Doesn’t
- Frozen butter = success. As your scone bakes, frozen butter will melt and release steam, creating tender flaky pockets in the middle with crisp and crumbly edges. Butter that hasn’t been frozen could melt before it makes it to the oven, and you’ll lose all that tender, flaky goodness.
- Grate the butter. Weird, right? Fine shreds of cold butter make for an even mix into the dry ingredients. If you don’t own a grater, you can also use a sharp knife to cut the butter into small chunks, but I prefer the teeny shreds.
- Blot the pumpkin. Trust me on this. Pumpkin puree is extremely wet and can cause spreading in your mixture. Blot the pumpkin for 15 seconds with a paper towel before you use it. For more details on blotting pumpkin, see my pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies or pumpkin snickerdoodles.
- Don’t over-mix the dough. After you add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix with ease until combined. Just like pie crust, over-mixing the scone dough will result in a tough texture.
Heavy Cream for the Win
There are some recipes where substituting similar ingredients is okay, but this isn’t one of them. Rich heavy cream or buttermilk is the secret to these delicious scones.
- Heavy cream or buttermilk is a must. Texture is crucial for the perfect scone, so don’t substitute milk or nondairy milk in this recipe. You’ll lose both the texture and flavor that make these scones irresistible.
- I swear by this trick. Brush the scones with the remaining heavy cream or buttermilk right before baking and sprinkle with a little coarse sugar if you have any. It will help ensure that sweet, crisp exterior.
Overview: How to Make Classic Pumpkin Scones
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through it quickly so you understand each step before you get started.
- Whisk dry ingredients together.
- Add frozen butter to the flour mixture. Grate your butter and add to the flour mixture using a pastry blender, a fork, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. Remember, you don’t want the butter to melt before you bake.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together. After they are combined, drizzle the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until moistened throughout.
- Flour up. Coat your hands in flour and work the mixture into a ball of dough. The dough should be thoroughly combined, but don’t overwork it which could result in a tough texture.
- Flatten dough ball into an 8-inch disc. Use a sharp knife to cut the disc into 8 equal wedges.
- Don’t forget the heavy cream wash. Brush the remaining heavy cream (or buttermilk) onto your scones using a pastry brush right before baking. Sprinkle with coarse sugar for a sweet textured crunch.
- Make the glaze. While the scones are baking, make the maple glaze over low heat by combining the butter and maple syrup until the mixture is completely melted. Remove from the heat and add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and a dash of salt to achieve the perfect glaze consistency.
- Drizzle over the scones. Add the maple icing while the scones are still warm so it melts into every flake, crack, and crevice. You’ll taste melty maple goodness with every bite.
More Fall Recipes
- Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
- Apple Cider Donuts
- Pumpkin Bars
- Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Maple Pecan Sticky Buns
Classic Pumpkin Scones
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 scones
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Deliciously spiced classic pumpkin scones are flaky and soft with perfectly crumbly edges. Top with coarse sugar for extra crunch and maple icing for extra decadence!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, frozen
- 1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons (105ml) heavy cream, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup (115g) canned pumpkin puree, blotted*
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: coarse sugar for sprinkling on top before baking
Maple Glaze
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (80ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 cup (112g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
- pinch salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Adjust baking rack to the middle-low position. Line 1 or 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat(s). If making mini scones, I use 2 baking sheets. Set aside.
- Make the scones: Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter (I use a box grater). Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and combine it with a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. Set aside.
- Whisk 1/3 cup (75ml) heavy cream, the egg, blotted pumpkin (see note), brown sugar, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and then mix it all together until everything appears moistened.
- With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can and transfer onto a floured work surface. Press into a neat 8-inch disc and, with a very sharp knife, cut into 8 equal wedges. To make smaller scones, press dough into two 5-inch discs and cut each into 8 equal wedges. (Larger scones are pictured in this blog post.)
- Place scones at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s). Using a pastry brush, brush scones with remaining heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired. (Gives a nice crunch!)
- Bake the larger scones for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. If you made 16 smaller scones, bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes as you prepare the icing.
- Make the glaze: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and maple syrup together, whisking occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners’ sugar. Taste and add a pinch of salt if desired. Drizzle over warm scones.
- Scones are best enjoyed right away, though leftover scones keep well at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2 extra days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Plain baked scones freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then heat up to your liking before icing and enjoying.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can use store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice here. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, use 1/2 teaspoon each: ground allspice and ground ginger AND 1/4 teaspoon each: ground nutmeg and ground cloves. This is in addition to the 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in the recipe—you will still add that.
- Blotting Pumpkin: Using a paper towel or clean kitchen towel, lightly blot the pumpkin puree to remove some of the moisture before using in the recipe. The more moisture removed, the less moist and muffin-like the scones will taste. We want the scones to be flaky and crumbly, not super moist or muffin-like. I prefer to squeeze lots of moisture out so the scones taste textured and delicious. Do what you prefer!
Keywords: pumpkin scones
I previously use your pumpkin scone recipes to make pumpkin scones and they turned out great. Later, I wanted to make sweet potato scones but couldn’t find a recipe that I really liked so I used your pumpkin scone recipe and substituted the canned puree pumpkin for 1/2 cup of mashed baked sweet potatoes. I used a mixer to blend it with the wet ingredients. I used your same spices but increased the cinnamon from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon. I also toasted some pecans and added them to the maple glazed and they turned out great. Thank you for the recipe.
I saw this recipe yesterday and literally had DREAMS last night about it. I had some pumpkin puree I had made previously in the fridge just waiting for something like this. Though I am always having to make substitutions because I live overseas, it was worth the extra time to make these. So Yummy. I used maple syrup and cream cheese that was begging to be used up in my fridge for the glaze. Just perfect!
This is the first Sally’s recipe I have made but planning to make more for sure.
Hi Sally
I made the sconce recipe to the letter and I noticed my flight seemed moist and very soft. Is that normal? The pictures you have posted looks more like a solid dough
I’m American, living in the UK and I have had a craving for the Starbucks pumpkin scones for months. Unfortunately they don’t sell them here so I used this recipe to make my own and they are so much better! Absolutely delicious!!
I made these this morning, thank you for another great recipe. I wanted to make these a little healthier so I used 1 cup of all purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour. I also skipped the coarse sugar and the glaze and reduced the sugar a teeny bit. Plus, I added toasted pecans (I really wanted to add chocolate chips, but a recent over-indulgence in Halloween candy called for pecans). The results are delicious.
Hi Sally, Thanks for the delicious recipe. I made these scones for a tea party I was hosting just the other day. They were the most favored out of 3 different scone varieties I made that day. I would just like to add that the maple glaze amount was way too much for the single recipe of pumpkin scones. I actually cut the glaze or drizzle ingredients in half and still had some left over. The glaze was the perfect compliment to these for sure. I actually let the scones and glaze cool quite a bit before drizzling on top so it wouldn’t run off so easily. My canned pumpkin wasn’t watery at all so I didn’t bother to dab it. Maybe it depends on the brand. Thanks again! Mary
I was looking for a recipe to use left over pumpkin, found your recipe. I just made them and oh my, they are delicious. I didnt have confectioners sugar on hand (didnt feel like driving to the supermarket ) for the frosting. But they are delicious without the frosting. I did sprinkle raw sugar on top before baking. Definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you.
Omg Sally these are amazing! I just made them for my sons teachers and of course had to sample one! WOW and I love the added glaze. I usually make a blueberry lemon scone and I’m so glad to have a fall scone to add to my fave recipes. This is a keeper for sure, thank you so much! So far any recipes I’ve tried of yours are delish!!
I made this recipe this morning exactly according the instructions. The flavor was great, but we weren’t too crazy about the texture. It was too much like a cake – too moist. I think the egg was the culprit. I like scones that are somewhat dry and crumbly. My other favorite scone recipes don’t use eggs, and they have a better texture. I’m going to give it another try, omitting the egg. The glaze was delicious, but I cut the amount in half, and it was still more than enough for 8 scones.
Just perfect!! I followed the recipe exactly until it got to adding a pinch of salt to the glaze. I got too excited when I tasted it and forgot all about it. After savoring a generous-sized scone, I noticed all of the glaze that was leftover. Having already basically sopped the top of the scones in the glaze I was about to be bummed with wasting food. Looking around the kitchen for anything to dip into the glaze, I spied some leftover coffee in the pot from this morning ( I know, how weird. Leftover coffee?). And yes, it happened. I devilishly poured that buttery glaze into a heated up cup of coffee. I am winning at life today. Thank you Sally!
These scones are soooo good! I had some left over pumpkin from your pumpkin coffee cake that I made over the weekend (also delicious, of course) and these were the perfect solution! Not overly sweet, and they have the perfect texture and pumpkin flavor. It is very difficult not to eat every single one! Thank you for your always amazing recipes!
I made these today and they are amazing. I added white chocolate chips. Your scone recipes are the best.
Just made these this afternoon. I plan on freezing a few so I skipped the icing but added 3/4 c of white chocolate chips and went a little heavier on the turbinado to make up for it. They turned out beautifully! The texture is absolutely perfect, thanks to your tip about blotting the pumpkin. My husband devoured one as soon as he came home and promptly declared it “the best thing he has EVER eaten”, lol.
Hi Sally, I just made a batch of these scones and omg they were amazing! They had so much texture but were still so light!!! This was the first time I’ve made American scones (I’m Australian) and my family ate the whole tray within 10 minutes!!
Thank you for this recipe that I will keep and make for the rest of my life 🙂
Hello Sally!
Thank you so much for this Wonderful recipe.
I just made the with soft white wheat grain that I milled fresh. I also replaced the sugar with Sucanat and they came out wonderfully!!
I made the minis and will have to make another batch in order to share them at work tomorrow.
These scones are absolutely delicious! I was somewhat apprehensive b/c baking isn’t really my thing, but i took my time and followed the instructions to the letter and it paid off. Not overly sweet and the texture is amazing. Great with my morning coffee!
This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Many thanks for sharing…
We made these this weekend and LOVED them. My whole family devoured them, and they were still delicious a day later.
I have been waiting for the longest time for a pumpkin scone recipe from you and I can’t tell you how excited I was when you posted this! I have tried several of your other scone recipes and they’ve all been wonderful. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve made your lemon blueberry scones! Your pumpkin version is every bit as wonderful as all the others and I have a feeling I’ll be making them a lot this season. I mean A LOT! I did swap your Maple Icing from your Pumpkin Crumb Cake Muffins for the Maple Glaze in this recipe, but only because I’m not a fan of butter in my glazes. It was absolutely perfect. Thank you, Sally, for this amazing recipe!
Made these for breakfast for me & my husband to celebrate the 1st day of Fall!! They were delicious!! I made the mini scones and froze half of them. I made 1/2 of the glaze recipe and still had plenty to freeze for the remaining scones for later. Thank you, Sally, for another great recipe!
The dough was quite sticky. I had to use quite a bit of flour to keep the dough from sticky to my hands and surface. I’m wondering…next time, could I chill the dough in the fridge for about 15 mins? Do you think it’ll make the dough easier to handle without possibly over flouring?
Yes! Chilling the scone dough in the refrigerator will help it be a little more manageable to work with.
Yep! The dough will be sticky. 🙂 So happy everyone enjoyed the scones!
I haven’t. Let me know if you do!