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Pumpkin scones for two. This quick small batch scone recipe is full of real pumpkin and pumpkin spice! The best scones you’ve ever had because they’re made with all cream and are super flaky!
If you like this recipe, you will also love my pumpkin ebook with 25 Pumpkin Recipe That Aren’t Pie and 1 That Is!
The only time it’s good to be flaky is when you’re a scone. Wait, I should say that biscuits are definitely allowed to be flaky, too.
If you haven’t seen my small batch biscuits recipe, you need to see that too!
How to make scones, the rule book:
First of all, a proper scone is made with all cream and a small amount of butter. It should puff up and out in the oven, and crack in a few places, too. While it’s flaky on the outside, the inside of a scone, should be soft and muffin-y.
I don’t make the rules for scones, friends, I just know how to make them the best way possible.
My small-batch pumpkin scones recipe makes 4 scones. It’s perfect for a weekday morning when you want a quick breakfast treat. The scone dough is made all in one bowl, and then shaped and cut right on the baking pan.
They bake in less than 20 minutes, which gives you plenty of time to clean up the bowls and make the pumpkin spice glaze.
Pumpkin Scones Recipe Adaptations:
Because pumpkin is a very wet ingredient, I had to make a few adjustments to this recipe.
- Reduce the butter and omit the egg yolk.
- Add 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. The moisture of the pumpkin replaced the egg yolk.
- Remember to use a big pan so the scones have room to breathe.
As a result of these changes, these scones are the BEST.
When I made my lemon scones for two recipe, you guys freaked because they’re light and flaky, just the way they should be! I’m happy to report that the pumpkin scones are just as light and flaky.
Can you see how much these guys puffed up in the oven? The cracked portion and the crispy bit on the top is my absolute FAVORITE.
If you want great scones, don’t use one of those scone pans! Scones need plenty of room to puff up in the oven, and they should have plenty of room around them while they bake. These pumpkin scones in the photo were pushed together for the photo; bake them spaced apart, please.
This is my quarter sheet pan, and it has plenty of room to space out 4 scones.
Pumpkin Scones Recipe Ingredients
- Flour. One and a quarter cup of all-purpose flour.
- Sugar. Scones are not overly sweet like muffins, so this recipe only needs 1/4 cup of white granulated sugar.
- Salt.
- Baking Soda.
- Baking Powder.
- Pumpkin Spice. Two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice blend.
- Butter. Two tablespoons of very cold unsalted butter, diced.
- Pumpkin. One-quarter cup of canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. This is replacing some of the butter in our scones, and making these scones slightly lighter on calories, plus full of pumpkin flavor.
- Heavy Cream. You can use heavy whipping cream or regular heavy cream (also called double cream). You need 1/3 cup for the dough and a small splash for making the frosting.
- Powdered Sugar. To make a pumpkin spice glaze for these pumpkin scones, mix together 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, and a splash of cream until it comes together into a pourable glaze.
Finally, I want to share my recipe for homemade pumpkin pie spice that really makes all of my pumpkin desserts sing.
Homemade pumpkin spice recipe:
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- scant 1/2 teaspoon of finely ground black pepper
Yes, black pepper is the key here! If you don’t have all the ingredients in your pantry to make it, you can also buy pumpkin spice in a jar. Plus, I’m always struggling to use up my spices before they lose their flavor.
How to make Pumpkin Scones
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin spice.
- Work the diced butter into the flour mixture until it’s evenly distributed and smaller than peas by using a pastry cutter or your fingertips to smear the butter into the flour.
- Next, add the pumpkin and heavy cream in a small bowl and whisk together. Pour this on the flour mixture and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Don’t overmix, but incorporate things well. Scoop the dough out, place it on the baking sheet, and use your hands to make it into a 5-inch disk. Slice the dough circle into 4 even pieces. Brush each piece with extra heavy cream.
- Bake for 16-19 minutes at 400-degrees Fahrenheit, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the scones are lightly brown on the edges.
- Bake for 16-19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the scones are lightly brown on the edges.
How to serve a Pumpkin Scone
Pumpkin scones are weekend food for me with a pumpkin spice latte. The scones are much less sweet than a traditional chocolate pumpkin muffin or slice of pumpkin bread, which is why I serve it with a sweet latte!
Storing Pumpkin Spice Scones
These scones are great at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 additional day. It’s a small batch recipes, so you shouldn’t have too many leftovers!
Pumpkin Scone Recipe FAQs
In a word, yes, because the texture is better and they also have more spice!
I ordered a pumpkin scone at Starbucks to compare, and still, I love this recipe more!
Therefore, every morning, I resist the urge to hand out these pumpkin scones to everyone in line at Starbucks to prevent them from ordering their thin, flat ones!
Even though this recipe isn’t overly sweet, you can sweeten it up with the icing. The pumpkin spice icing on top brings all the sweetness you need, but in my opinion, the glaze is optional. If you decide not to use the icing, pair the scones up with a cup of milky sweet coffee.
Scones are meant to be somewhat crumbly, and the wrong recipe can create dry scones. My recipe, however, makes moist scones full of flavor that are still somewhat crumbly. It’s because they contain a small amount of heavy cream. I don’t trust recipes for scones that don’t contain cream.
Arrange your scones slightly touching on the baking sheet so that they rise up not out. Also, my recipe contains baking soda and baking powder for the best, fluffiest rise.
If scones are spaced out too far on the baking sheet, they can spread out and bake flatter instead of light and fluffy. Space them closer together (see my photos for reference) before baking. Also, a flat, dense scone can be caused by too much liquid in the scone batter. This is why my recipe calls for rubbing the butter into the flour like pastry dough, to coat all of the flour in butter to create a tight crumb.
So are you ready to start baking? I’m going to hand this recipe over to you, friends, and then let you comment about their deliciousness. There’s only so many times I can tell you how sweet, flaky, fluffy, tender, spicy and delicious these pumpkin scones are before you think I’m crazy!
If you make these pumpkin scones, let me know on Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss a recipe!
Pumpkin Scones
Pumpkin scones with pumpkin spice glaze.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
- 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
For the glaze:
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin spice.
- Dice the butter and add it to the flour mixture. Work the butter into the flour mixture until it's evenly distributed and smaller than peas. Use two knives, a pastry cutter, or your hands.
- Next, add the pumpkin and heavy cream in a small bowl and whisk together. Pour this on the flour mixture and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Don't overmix, but incorporate things well.
- Scoop the dough out, place it on the baking sheet, and use the warmth of your hands to make it stick together into a circle.
- Shape the dough into a disc 5" in diameter.
- Slice the dough circle into 4 even pieces. Brush each piece with extra heavy cream.
- Bake for 16-19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the scones are lightly brown on the edges.
- While the scones bake, whisk together the glaze ingredients. Pour on the scones when they come out of the oven. Serve immediately.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 378Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 344mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 2gSugar: 23gProtein: 5g
I baked these scones this afternoon to snack on with my hot cocoa- they are perfect! Excellent recipe yielding the best pumpkin scone I can remember having! Yum :-)
These scones wer sooooo delicious. Mine did not look quit as “popped’ as yours but none the less, they were yummy. I skipped the icing and just brushed them with cream and sprinkles course sugar on the top. I shared then with my neighbors who emailed me to tell me how much they enjoyed them. I will be making these again for sure and might keep them all for myself the next time.
Thanks, Christina!
So glad I found this site. Wonderful recipes!
Can you substitute heavy cream for soy milk? To double the recipe, do I just double all the ingredients?
I haven’t tried any substitutions. And yes, double the recipe exactly.
Made these last night and they are AMAZING!!! Had another for breakfast this morning! So light! So flavorful! All previous scones I’ve made have been weirdly chewy, but these were just beautifully soft on the inside and crisp on the outside! The only things I did slightly differently was left out the allspice in the pumpkin spice (because I have none) and since I used fresh pumpkin that I baked and froze last fall I blended it with the cream for a few seconds to break up the fibers. The glaze was also lovely and added an extra pumpkin spice kick! My boyfriend loved them, I loved them. Would HIGHLY recommend.
Dear Christina,
These are the most delicious pumpkin scones I have every tried! One can call me a scone snob :)))
Scones is my favorite baked good and I almost always find myself going for a scone when it comes to picking anything at the bakery. Here in Washington State I am always disappointed. They are either too sweet or not sweet enough. Too heavy to taste and by texture or too light and fluffy.
I like this recipe because there are no eggs or milk/cream. In my opinion both make scones rather heavy not only to taste, but also to digest.
Today I used starwberry puree instead of pumpkin puree and substituted pumpkin spice with cardamom in less quantity. Heavenly! They are my favorite!
I cannot thank you enough!
Sincerely,
Mara.
Oh thank you so much, Mara! :)
Fabulous recipe! I am a baker by trade and have made hundreds of scones but never in the smaller portioned batch! These scones are just how I love them, tender on the inside with a nice crust on the outside and just enough sweetness with the extra drizzle! Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
I had just a little pumpkin left over to make this for breakfast this morning. I usually skip the glaze, but I made this one and I’m glad I did! Yum and thrilled that it makes just 4. Another awesome small batch recipe! Thanks so much.
Hello Christina,
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I mill my own flour and wondered if you have tried it with soft white wheat or spelt?
I have not, I’m sorry. But you sound adventurous :)
Delicious! I made the crust less pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving and had exactly enough pumpkin left over to make these scones and the Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes (they are in the oven right now!). I think the next time I make these I might add a quarter cup of chopped pecans because I like lumps in my scones. Wonderful recipe, highly recommended!