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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My go to recipe for pumpkin scones. Everyone loves them! Even people who aren’t the biggest pumpkin fans.
I made them and they were amazing. My family wants more.
These are moist and absolutely delicious. I added 1/2 tsp. cardamom, it added floral complexity.
I am 11 years old and LOVE to bake!! I make these about once every two weeks and bring them to school. They are always a huge hit. This recipe has NEVER failed! I would make these every day if I had time.
These scones were moist and delicious with a nice flavor combination of spices and pumpkin. The glaze added even more pumpkin flavor. These were gone almost immediately! Will definitely make again. Thanks Jen for yet another winner!
Jenn can truly do no wrong in my eyes and these scrumptious scones are no exception. DIVINE!
Wow these are perfect for fall days! Made a batch, froze the scones then traveled cross country with them for Thanksgiving. Baked them straight from the freezer as Jenn suggested and they tasted SO yummy! The texture of these is much better than the regular super dry crumbly ones. Will be making the other scone recipes for the holidays! Thank you Jenn for a wonderful website!
I’ve made these scones as written a few times now and they turn out perfectly each time. It is getting cool here in Northern California now and dear husband begged for them. We love how spicy and warming they are. Next time, I will try the tip I read about adding more flour to make them crumbly, as I love that texture. Because I like a crumbly, dry scone, I just bake them about 3-4 minutes longer to really brown up the bottom. The glaze made with pumpkin? Genius! Don’t skip the glaze people! If it’s too thin, sif in more sugar, too thick, add more pumpkin. I skip the extra powdered sugar on top and put finely chopped walnuts on the wet glaze. Yum! Thank you.
My favorite pumpkin scone recipe! So delicious!! Even the people I know who don’t like pumpkin ❤️ them!!
These scones are perfection! Instead of using 2 cups of flour I used one cup of quick oats and one cup of flour, in an attempt to make them better suited for breakfast and less cake-like. They are so good, definitely the most scrumptious scones I have ever devoured, such a wonderful moist texture, perfect for breakfast. Oh and that glaze…it was the flavor bomb that took these scones to the next level of deliciousness. Don’t skip the glaze! Thank you, Jenn, I just love these!
I have made your pumpkin scones a few times before and love the flavor! The texture seems a little off to me though… a little more cake like a regular scone? Not as light and crumbly. I noticed you use cake flour in your other scone recipe to improve texture. Can I ask why you don’t use it here? And if I wanted to try it, would I substitute it directly (same quantity as the all purpose flour you call for)?
Hi Cole, The pumpkin does give these a softer, more cake-like texture than most scones. If you want them to be more crumbly, I’d increase the flour a bit. I don’t recommend cake flour, as that would make them even more cake-like. Hope that helps!
Ah! Well you saved me then – I was about to make a batch with the cake flour today but will stick with regular (and maybe a tad more like you suggested). glad I asked! Thank you for the quick response!