Your favorite Fall menu indulgence that’s even better than the original. Made with real pumpkin, this perfectly spiced scone is flakey with just the right amount of sweetness from the vanilla and pumpkin spice glaze. Ready to eat in just 1 hour.

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Most coffee snobs don’t like to admit it, but as a millennial, my love of coffee definitely started with Starbucks.

One of the mysteries of adolescence is thinking back on the food and drinks that you cannot fathom eating as an adult. I still don’t know how I metabolized venti caramel frappuccino’s with extra caramel on a regular basis, but suffice to say that 13 year old me was not afraid of the more indulgent side of the Starbucks menu. At some point during the cooler (not really cold in Southern California) months of my early teenage years, I experienced my first Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL). I don’t exactly remember my first PSL, but I do remember that I was willing and searching for any other vehicle to get more of that perfect cinnamon-clove-ginger-nutmeg-allspice combination on my palate.

The perfect pairing to the PSL was obviously the Pumpkin Spice Scone, but as I got older, and the franchise grew, it noticed the scone becoming both more expensive and less bespoke. Like it was perhaps made in a factory for the masses and also had a far longer shelf life than your standard bakery scone.

I started to forgo my favorite pastry when it showed up in the glass cases, knowing it would never live up to my memory of it. Gradually I explored other options like the banana bread or even the parfait, but nothing ever came close to the perfect pairing of the flakey, sweet spiced scone next to an equally flavorful latte.

As my tastes matured, and my tolerance for sweetened coffee drinks lessened, and I came across an unsurpassably good scone recipe (thank you, Paige from The Last Ingredient), I realized I needed to take the situation into my own hands. Surely I could come up with a pumpkin spice scone recipe that was as good—dare I say, better—than the original? Happily, and quite proudly, I pulled it off. At the end of the year, I leave an extra can of pumpkin puree in my cabinet, so I can whip up a few batches when I start craving the spice in August, but before pumpkin themed items start hitting the shelves in Trader Joe’s.

One of my favorite things about scones is that they come together relatively quickly, as opposed to many other breakfast pastries. If you have even an inkling that you will make this recipe, and a spare stick of butter on hand, then toss it in the freezer now.

Can I make these ahead of time?

Yes! They store in the freezer for up to one month. Make the glaze fresh, such as when you are baking them. Scones are best baked fresh the day you plan to serve them, but if you’d like to bake them the night before an event, you can gently reheat them by putting them on a baking sheet in the oven at 300°F for 5 minutes.

What if I want smaller scones?

Scones slide and topple, losing their signature wedge shape if you cut them too small, so I have found the best way to get smaller scones is to double the recipe and divid into three discs. This results in scones that are about 33% smaller than the standard scones, and the perfect size for a brunch setting where there is a variety of food options. You could technically divide a single batch into two, but you would have to be very careful with the bake time as to make sure they don’t overbake and dry out.

My scones still turned out dry, what did I do wrong?

Very likely you added too much flour to your dough. If when you turned out the dough onto the surface to knead it but it didn’t stick at all to the surface, you likely over measured. Measure the flour by weight in grams using a kitchen scale (this is the one I use) next time (240 grams), or whisk the flour thoroughly to “fluff it up” before gently scooping it into your measuring cup and leveling with the flat side of a butter knife (not shaking to level).

The other possibility is that you over worked the dough when bringing it together. Remember to fold and press the layers together; you don’t need a rolling pin for this. There should still be a few cracks in the corners, and it doesn’t have to be a perfect circle (mine rarely are).

Why did my scones leak butter during the baking?

Most likely you didn’t chill the scones for long enough or let them sit at room temperature for too long before baking. They need to be chilled in the freezer for a minimum of 30 minutes (up to 60 or they may stay too cold on the inside and over bake on the outside), or chilled in the fridge for one hour. Don’t take them out to cut until the oven is fully preheated or they might get too warm before baking. Making sure your ingredients (heavy cream, milk, and butter) are as cold as possible before combining the dough is another way to make sure the dough stays cold and the butter doesn’t soften before baking.

Can these be made gluten-free?

In my experience, pastry is really hard to get right gluten-free. My attempts at gluten-free pastry typically end up brittle, stodgy, leak out all of the butter, and have a weird aftertaste. Your best bet is using King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Bread Flour* mix, but it has wheat in it and is not safe for people with wheat allergies.

Ingredients you’ll need:

Scone Dough

2 cups All Purpose Flour: The main ingredient for the dough
1 tablespoon Baking Powder: Leavening for the dough
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie spice: You can make your own or use store bought, but don’t skip this ingredient because it gives the scones the signature pumpkin spice flavor
3 Tablespoons Sugar: To balance out the savoriness of the pumpkin
1/2 stick Unsalted Butter: A little goes a long way in this recipe, to provide the flakey layers, plus more for brushing when it is out of the oven

3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt: To add dimension to the pastry and balance the sweetness
3/4 cup Heavy Cream: This is the secret ingredient to giving the scones a flaky texture.
1/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling): Gives the scones the signature orange look and pumpkin flavor as well as a source of moisture for the dough

Vanilla Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar: The main base for glaze
3/4 teaspoon vanilla: For the flavor
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream: To help combine the ingredients
Pinch of salt: To balance out the sweetness

Pumpkin Spice Glaze:

3/4 cup Powdered Sugar:
1 tablespoon pumpkin puree: Provides an orange color and pumpkin flavor
1-2 teaspoon heavy cream
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Equipment Needed

Large Mixing Bowl: For mixing the dough together

Glass Measuring Cup: My trusty 1 cup pyrex does the trick for this

Box Cheese Grater: For grating the butter. Alternatively, you can cut into cubes and pulse in a food processor until the butter is the size of peas, but be careful not to over mix.

Rubber Spatula: For mixing the dough

Measuring Spoons: For measuring the dry ingredients

Kitchen Scale: For measuring the flour, if you have one already. This one is my favorite and rechargeable.*

Baking Pan or Cookie Sheet: Use to bake the scones on. It doesn’t matter if it has rimmed edges or not.

Parchment Paper: For lining the pan before baking. I would avoid a silicone baking mat and bake straight on the pan since many silicone baking mats get too hot and can burn the bottom of the scone.

Pastry Brush: For Brushing the scones with egg white, can dip a paper towel and use that in a pinch.

You can see the Kitchen Basics list on my Amazon Storefront for what items I would recommend using.

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Step by Step Directions

Make the dough

Chill the butter in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. I like to keep a stick of butter in my freezer at all times in case I randomly want to make a scone (it happens more than you might think).

Whisk the flour, salt, sugar, pumpkin spice, and baking powder in a medium bowl.

Combine pumpkin puree and heavy cream in a separate glass measuring cup. For most of my scone recipes, I have milk and heavy cream, but because pumpkin puree is so high in water content, I can substitute it 1:1 for milk in this recipe, and get the benefit of both a pumpkin infused scone and a flakey pastry.

Grate the frozen butter into flour and mix in evenly.

Add pumpkin and crean mixture to flour and bring together using a rubber spatula. Once it is mostly mixed together pour onto a clean surface and knead into a shaggy ball.

Fold the dough

Sprinkle flour on the counter and then use your hands to press out the dough into a 11”x5” rectangle, and then fold in half. Alternatively, you can cut it in half and stack it. Press back out to a 9x5 rectangle and then repeat once more. After the last roll fold in half and press into a 7” round disc, which never comes out perfectly circular for me. Don’t fuss over the shape lest you over work the dough.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and chill in freezer for 30 minutes. After I put the scones in the freezer, I like to turn on the oven to 400°F, so it is perfectly preheated by the time the scones are done chilling.

Bake the Scones

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut into 6 wedges and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. They don’t have to all be perfectly the same size. It is really hard to get even wedges unless you have a perfect circle.

Bake 25-30 min, rotating the baking sheet half way through until browned. It is done when it is golden brown on the corners and barely gives when you poke the thickest part.

Make the glazes & Frost the scones

While the scones are cooling, make the glazes using two medium sized bowls.

For the vanilla glaze, add all the ingredients, starting with just 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, and mix together using a small whisk or rubber spatula. If there are lumps in the glaze, put it in the microwave for five second increments and stir thoroughly in between. The glaze should not be runny, but closer the consistency of natural peanut butter. If it is too runny, add 1/2 cup more powdered sugar to get a thicker glaze.

Repeat the process for the pumpkin spice glaze, starting with just 1 teaspoon of heavy cream, adding 1 teaspoon more at a time and stirring in thoroughly to incorporate. You can use the microwave to dissolve the lumps if this one has any. Below is an example of what the consistency should look like.

Once the scones are cool enough to handle, about ten minutes after being out of the oven, use a large spoon to scoop the vanilla glaze equally onto every scone. Use the back of the spoon to spread the glaze, then working quickly, drizzle the pumpkin glaze using a large spoon on the scones. If the glaze has set and is too thick to drizzle, do not add more liquid. Instead, put it in the microwave for 5-7 seconds, stir and then drizzle. Repeat warming it up again if needed.