Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Pumpkin Glaze
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Inspired by Starbucks’ famous pumpkin scones, these breakfast treats are packed with pumpkin flavor.
Inspired by Starbucks’ famous pumpkin scones (but better, if you ask me), this pumpkin scones recipe is packed with pumpkin flavor and perfectly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. The addition of molasses and pumpkin makes them more tender than your typical cream scones—almost like pumpkin bread in scone form.
The spiced pumpkin glaze adds just the right amount of sweetness, complementing the lightly sweet scones and really enhancing the pumpkin flavor. Don’t be intimidated by the long ingredient list; it’s mostly spices, and many ingredients do double duty in the scones and the glaze.
If you love scones, check out my blueberry scones and butterscotch pecan scones for more flavors!
Table of Contents
“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: Provides moisture and pumpkin flavor. Make sure to purchase 100% pure pumpkin puree– not pumpkin pie filling.
- Egg: Adds richness and helps bind the scone ingredients together.
- Heavy Cream: Enhances moisture and the fat in heavy cream ensures a tender texture.
- Molasses: Adds depth and richness to the flavor profile. Avoid blackstrap molasses as it will add a bitter flavor to the scones.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides structure to the scones. Measure it by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off to ensure accuracy.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness and contributes to a moist texture.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Act as leavening agents for rise and fluffiness.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg add warm, spicy flavor notes characteristic of pumpkin spice treats. It’s fine to replace the spices in the scones and glaze with pumpkin pie spice, if you like.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Provides sweetness and adds thickness to the glaze that tops the scones.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the pumpkin, heavy cream, egg, molasses, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
Whisk to combine and set aside.
Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse until evenly combined.
Add the small cubes of cold butter.
Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-sized chunks of butter within. Those little chunks of butter are important and will render light and flaky scones.
Add the pumpkin mixture.
And pulse until the dough comes together. It will be sticky, and you should still be able to see some chunks of butter.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, then dust the top of the dough with flour.
Gently knead the dough into a smooth ball, then divide in half.
Form each half into 5-inch circles, about 3/4-inch thick.
Cut each circle into six wedges.
Place the scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden.
Remove from the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes on the baking sheet. Meanwhile, make the glaze: combine the confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin purée, water, and spices in a medium bowl.
Whisk until the glaze is smooth. It should be thick.
Spoon the glaze over top of the scones, letting it drip a bit down the sides.
Let sit for about 30 minutes for the glaze to set, then serve.
Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions
Pumpkin scones are best served fresh on the day they are made but will keep well in a covered container for two days. The dough and the baked scones can also be frozen for up to 3 months. If freezing the dough, 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, allowing a few extra minutes in the oven. To freeze them 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, let them come to room temperature, and 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure, although the mixture of spices in pumpkin pie spice is not an exact match (pumpkin pie spice sometimes includes allspice), it’s fine to replace the spices in the scones and glaze with pumpkin pie spice. Just replace the individual spices with an equal amount of pumpkin pie spice, so in this case, you’ll need 1 tablespoon for the scones and 1 teaspoon for the glaze.
Definitely! If canned pumpkin isn’t available where you live, or you’d just prefer to use fresh, that’s not a problem. For baking, the most flavorful pumpkins are smaller than those typically associated with Jack-O-Lanterns. They’re usually in the 4 to 8-pound range and are referred to as sugar, cooking, or pie pumpkins. This detailed piece from King Arthur Flour provides guidance on how to convert a whole pumpkin into purée that can be used in any of my pumpkin baked goods, pumpkin butter, or pumpkin soup.
Note: This scone portion of this recipe is based on a popular copycat recipe for Starbucks’ pumpkin scones that’s all over the Internet, but I’ve changed the method and recipe a bit. The Starbucks’ version has two thin glazes: plain and pumpkin. This version has a single thick pumpkin glaze, which is easier to make and packs much more pumpkin flavor.
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Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Pumpkin Glaze
Inspired by Starbucks’ famous pumpkin scones, these breakfast treats are packed with pumpkin flavor.
Ingredients
For the Scones
- ½ cup canned pumpkin purée (I use 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 with knife, plus more for dusting
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons 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
- 1 stick (½ cup) 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. 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-inch 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-inch circle, about ¾-inch 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.
- Note: The scones are best served fresh on the day they are made but will keep well in a covered container for two days.
- Freezer-Friendly 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
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- Serving size: 1 scone
- Calories: 261
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 41g
- Sugar: 23g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Sodium: 193mg
- Cholesterol: 41mg
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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Well, I accidentally used cornstarch instead of baking powder and my scones still rose perfectly in the oven. They were a little cakey in the center, but they’re still delicious! I will definitely try again, but with the correct ingredients this time. 😆
And, yes, we’ll be eating all of them!
These were very delicious scones! Next time I might try a powder sugar glaze. The pumpkin glaze tasted great, but is, obviously, a strong color. Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe is amazing. Scones turned out so tender and delicious!! This is my new favorite recipe ☺️
Would love recipes with metric weights.
Hi Dana, The great majority of my recipes include conversions to metric/weight measurements. (I just added them to this recipe.) To view them, scroll down to the recipe, and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you.
My family loves these scones. I have made many scones over the years, and am always disappointed with how dry they are. These are moist, and I think it is because this recipe calls for heavy cream AND butter. Watch how long you bake them…I found that pulling them out of the oven a minute or two before you think you should actually results in a more moist scone as well. They continue to cook a little as they rest on the baking sheet.
Hi Jen,
Wound buttermilk work here in lieu of the heavy cream?
Thanks
I wouldn’t recommend it — sorry!
I have made these scones twice now. Both times, I cut up the butter into tiny pieces and froze it for 3+ hours before I made the dough. The second time, I used a scoop to place the scone dough onto the baking sheet. The first time, the dough was too sticky to follow the directions about shaping the two rounds of dough into separate scones. Scooping it worked much better. I floured my fingers and gently patted the scoops of dough into 3/4″ scones before baking. Now that I’ve resolved these issues, I will probably make these scones again. They taste very good!
These are delicious! I substituted Hachiya persimmon for pumpkin since I have so many on my tree. Worked out perfectly.
Love this recipe! Made them for a brunch last week and everyone loved them (even my picky food friends). So I made a double batch for Thanksgiving yesterday and gave away most of them to my neighbors. Again, rave reviews! I think I may gave skimped a bit on the flour the first time because the dough was super sticky and hard to deal with – but the scones were delicious and more pumpkin bread-like. The dough yesterday was a little drier so I needed less flour to make into a ball, and the dough was much less sticky and hard to manage. These came out slightly drier but still really good and actually more scone-like. Just the right amount of sweet, spice and texture. The glaze is a nice touch and sets off the pumpkin flavor. To be clear, I am not a baker and these are the first scones I’ve ever made. If can make them, anyone can!
Delicious!! 😋