Pumpkin Scones are buttery, flaky, moist, and fragrant with all my favorite fall spices. No need to a trip to the coffee shop, these are even better!
I used my food processor to throw this dough together in record time, and since you use cold butter straight from the fridge, you can make these whenever the mood strikes. Scones are a nice change from muffins, pancakes, toast, or whatever else you usually have in the morning. Their unique texture comes from the cold butter that is finely dispersed into the flour…when it bakes it becomes wonderfully light and flaky. In this case the pumpkin makes them extra moist.
The dough is characteristically wet, rough and craggy — don’t over-work it or try to get it perfectly smooth. That ugly dough will bake up into a glorious scone. Just pat it out into a disk shape, and cut it into triangles. They bake up quickly, in about 15-18 minutes. I could still hear them sizzling when I took mine out since the pumpkin makes a wetish dough. It’s a mortal sin to overcook scones, so err on the side of caution.
I like a thick vanilla glaze on these scones, garnished with toasted pecans. You could also add pecans in the dough if you like.
Pumpkin Scones
Ingredients
dry ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 1/4 unbleached pastry flour
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 3/4 T. baking powder
- 1/4 t. baking soda
- 1/4 t. salt
- 1/4 t. cinnamon heaping
- 1/4 t. ground ginger heaping
- 1/4 t. nutmeg heaping
- 1/4 t. ground clove heaping
butter
- 1 stick chilled butter diced
wet ingredients
- 1 eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup. canned pumpkin not pie filling
- 1/3 cup heavy cream or buttermilk
glaze
- 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- milk cream or water to thin
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- chopped pecans for garnish
Instructions
- set oven to 400F
- Put all the dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse several times to combine.
- Add the chilled butter and pulse until the mixture becomes coarsely crumbled and the butter is well distributed.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients. While pulsing the machine, pour in the liquid and process just until combined. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and bring it together into a 6 inch disk with floured hands. Cut the disk into 6 triangles, and place the scones on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.
- Bake 15-18 minutes, until scones are risen and just turning golden, don't over-bake.
- Let cool on a rack before glazing.
- Whisk together the glaze ingredients and adjust the consistency if you need to by adding more milk or more sugar. Spread it over the cooled scones and top with toasted pecans.
notes:
- The oat flour and pastry flour make an exceptionally tender scone, but you can substitute all-purpose flour if you like.
23 Comments
Janice Fowler Housley
October 29, 2013 at 7:35 amIs there anything I could substitute for the egg (grandchildren allergic)?
Sue
October 29, 2013 at 8:08 amI would just leave it out, Janice, and add a little more cream or buttermilk.
grace
October 25, 2011 at 10:39 pmall scones should have such a glaze–nice touch!