We sure have our fill when it comes to sweet breakfast treats. There are light and fluffy muffins, rich and flaky danishes, spiced cinnamon rolls, and of course everyone’s favorite, doughnuts. But one sweet breakfast dish that doesn’t get enough respect in my opinion is the timeless scone. They have a dense and crumbly crust that makes them perfect for filling you up in the morning. And today I’d like to show you how to make one that’s perfect for the fall season, pumpkin scones.
Why you should blot your pumpkin puree
While it’s not necessary I highly recommend that you blot your pumpkin puree before using it in this recipe. What exactly does this mean? Well, you simply place the pumpkin puree in a bowl. Then you take either a clean towel or a paper towel and press down on the puree to remove as much of the excess moisture from it as you can. It doesn’t have to be precise, just do as much as you can.
So what’s the point of doing this?
Well basically, the excess moisture in the puree can give the pumpkin scones a texture that is almost cake-like. And today we’re making pumpkin scones, not pumpkin cake! So while it won’t be the end of the world if you skip this step, it will help you to achieve the correct consistency.
A word on icing your scones
Most scone recipes will have you ice them with a glaze after baking them. And while I highly recommend you glaze your scones, you should be aware that it is completely optional. In fact, they will still taste pretty amazing without it.
However, I do want to point out that making your own glaze is incredibly easy to do. Just take a look at our recipe for simple powdered sugar glaze if you don’t believe me. And the best part about homemade glaze is that you can customize it any way you want. So if you want a simple vanilla glaze then stick with our original recipe. However, today we are going to be adding some maple syrup for a maple glaze. The choice is really up to you.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- When it comes to the butter you should always make sure that it is as cold as possible. In fact, if you have enough forethought you should place it in your freezer for about an hour before using it. Also while you can cut the butter into small pieces, I have found that grating it with a cheese grater makes it much easier to incorporate into the flour.
- While you can use a premade spice mix I highly recommend you try out our recipe for homemade pumpkin pie spice.
- Looking for more scone recipes? Then check out our posts for raspberry scones, and traditional English scones.
Pumpkin Scones Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: 8 scones
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
2 Cups of all-purpose flour
2½ Teaspoons of baking powder
2 Teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
½ Teaspoon of salt
½ Cup of unsalted butter, grated
Wet ingredients:
½ Cup of pumpkin puree, blotted
½ Cup of brown sugar
⅓ Cup of heavy cream, plus some extra for brushing the scones
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
Optional maple glaze:
1 Cup of powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons of maple syrup
½ Teaspoon of either maple extract or vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 205 Celsius.
- Mix together the dry ingredients: Get out a large mixing bowl and add the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt to it. Then use a whisk to incorporate all of these ingredients together. Then add the grated butter and use either a pastry cutter or your hands to combine the ingredients until they form pea-sized crumbs.
- Mix together the wet ingredients: Get out another large mixing bowl and add the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract to it. Then use a whisk to incorporate all of these ingredients together.
- Make the dough: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Then use your hands, to lightly mix it all together until the dough just forms.
- Form and fold the dough: sprinkle some flour on a clean work surface and place the scone dough on it. Use your hands to flatten the dough so that it’s 1½ thick and form it into a rectangular shape.
Then fold ⅓ of the dough over, followed by the other ⅓ over that.
Flatten the dough again, and repeat this folding step two more times.
- Get the scones ready for baking: Use your hands and mold the dough into a circle that is roughly 1-inch thick. Then use either a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 equal slices.
Place these slices on a baking sheet that is lined with either a silicone mat, or parchment paper. Finally, brush some extra cream over the top of each scone.
- Place the scones into your oven and let them bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they have become slightly browned.
- Let the scones cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Then you can either place some maple glaze over the top of them, or if you’re impatient then just dig in.
Pumpkin Scones Recipe
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 2 Cups of all-purpose flour
- 2½ Teaspoons of baking powder
- 2 Teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
- ½ Teaspoon of salt
- ½ Cup of unsalted butter grated
Wet ingredients:
- ½ Cup of pumpkin puree blotted
- ½ Cup of brown sugar
- ⅓ Cup of heavy cream plus some extra for brushing the scones
- 1 Egg
- 1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
Optional maple glaze:
- 1 Cup of powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons of maple syrup
- ½ Teaspoon of either maple extract or vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 205 Celsius.
- Mix together the dry ingredients: Get out a large mixing bowl and add the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt to it. Then use a whisk to incorporate all of these ingredients together. Then add the grated butter and use either a pastry cutter or your hands to combine the ingredients until they form pea-sized crumbs.
- Mix together the wet ingredients: Get out another large mixing bowl and add the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract to it. Then use a whisk to incorporate all of these ingredients together.
- Make the dough: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Then use your hands, to lightly mix it all together until the dough just forms.
- Form and fold the dough: sprinkle some flour on a clean work surface and place the scone dough on it. Use your hands to flatten the dough so that it’s 1½ thick and form it into a rectangular shape. Then fold ⅓ of the dough over, followed by the other ⅓ over that. Flatten the dough again, and repeat this folding step two more times.
- Get the scones ready for baking: Use your hands and mold the dough into a circle that is roughly 1-inch thick. Then use either a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 equal slices. Place these slices on a baking sheet that is lined with either a silicone mat, or parchment paper. Finally, brush some extra cream over the top of each scone.
- Place the scones into your oven and let them bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they have become slightly browned.
- Let the scones cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Then you can either place some maple glaze over the top of them, or if you’re impatient then just dig in.
