These Petite Spiced Pumpkin Scones have two (2!) glaze options. First, a nice maple schmooey that screams fall.
Second, an anise schmooey for those of you that want to wake up your taste buds a bit. This latter schmooey adds a nice kick to the smooth, warm flavors of the pumpkin scones.
I did some maple (for my kids), some anise (for me) and the remainder were a Jackson Pollock-like flick of both schmooey’s. That might be my new fav.
This dough is a dreammmm to work with!! It reminds me a bit of play-dough meets gingerbread. It’s quite smooth and snuggly…
If you love baking with pumpkin as much as I do, I hope you’ll also check out: Delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, this Easy Moist Pumpkin Bread Recipe, these Pumpkin Streusel Muffins, Pumpkin Cupcakes with Chai Frosting, Caramel Pumpkin Bars with Toasted Marshmallow Meringue and these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
And don’t forget to check out the pumpkin cookies and cakes in The Cookie Book and The Cake Book!
Why You Should Make These Scones
- Soft, tender scones that are super easy to make (I promise!)
- Loaded with fall flavor from the pumpkin, spices and maple syrup
- Recipe uses standard baking ingredients, nothing funky nor difficult to find
- These babies can be made ahead of time (LOVE)
- Can be paired with the vanilla bean glaze (included) or use my favorite simple egg wash (that’s in the recipe notes below) and sprinkle with Demerara or sparkling sugar
- Recipe yields 16 scones but can be made into 8 larger scones
If you are new to my scones, read this recipe for lots of scone-making tips. I will also include some important points below. For those of you that make and love my scones, this one won’t disappoint. Happy baking loves. xo
Tools for Making Pumpkin Scones Fabulous
A nice Silicone Spatula for stirring. And if you really wanna go for it, this silicon spatula is great for transferring off of the hot baking sheet.
An extra-large muffin or cupcake scoop to portion the dough.
These nested, heat-safe Glass Bowls are perfect for mixing up your scones.
Don’t forget my favorite scale. I wrote both of my books with this one, it will serve you well on your baking journey!
That beautiful Williams-Sonoma whisk with the wooden handle that’s in my videos. It’s so pretty. But when I’m being practical (and not making videos), this Material whisk is THE BOMB. I love their stuff!
I’ve adding a shopping section (woo hoo!), you can check it out here!
More scone love: holiday cranberry orange scones, mojito (thai thai) scones, maple oat scones with espresso schmooey, petite raspberry + blueberry scones, tangerine scones, apple-cinnamon and some savory bacon + cheddar + chive scones.
More fall recipes: pecan-cherry granola (totes easy), more pumpkin scones, apple-cherry scones, pumpkin cheesecake with salted caramel sauce (yup, this is as good as it sounds), fig arugula salad, persimmon salsa and Brussels sprout slaw.
Enjoy our Petite Spiced Pumpkin Scones!
Petite Spiced Pumpkin Scones
Ingredients
For the Scones
- 1 1/2 cups (187 g) all-purpose flour (plus two tablespoons (plus more for dusting your hands))
- 1 1/2 cups (125 g) cake flour
- 1 tablespoon (7.5 g) baking powder
- 2/3 cup (147 g) light brown sugar (packed)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 teaspoon ground all spice
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2/3 cup (162 g) pure pumpkin puree (not pie filling…100% pure puree)
- 1/2 cup (120 g) heavy whipping cream (cold)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons (42 g) real maple syrup
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter (cut in 8 pieces, cold)
For the Vanilla Glaze
- 2 cups (240 g) confectioners sugar
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) milk
- 1 vanilla bean, insides scraped (or 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract)
To Garnish (optional)
- 2 tablespoons each pepitas + unsalted pecans (chopped (optional))
Instructions
- Put parchment paper or a silpat on a large baking sheet.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, cloves, all spice, ginger and nutmeg. Taste your flour mixture. Is it slightly sweet, slightly spiced? It’s a good habit to taste your dry ingredients at this point…it will save you from that one time you may over-add an ingredient (I’ve done it with salt…the worst) or forget to include a key ingredient (like cinnamon). You’ll start to become familiar with what your dry ingredients taste like at this step and save yourself a lot of future anguish if you catch your boo boos early in your recipes…just a thought. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, heavy whipping cream, egg and maple syrup. Set aside.
- Cut your 4 ounces of butter into 8 equal-sized pieces and throw them in the bowl with the flour mixture like a boss. Using a pastry blender, two-forks or your hands, blend the butter into the flour mixture until you don't have any pieces larger than the size of a pea.
- Drizzle your egg-cream mixture over the flour-butter mixture. Using a fork, stir the mixture until a craggy ball starts to form.
- Flour the surface of a cutting board and your hands. Dump the craggy dough ball onto the floured cutting board and press it into a cohesive ball. Don't futz too much, just make sure that everything is blended well. Re-flour your hands as needed. Divide this dough ball into four equal-sized hunks of dough.
- Shape each hunk of dough into a nice round disk, about 1-inch thick. Take care to make sure that the sides are at a nice, crisp 90 degree angle. Pop this tray in the freezer for 20 minutes. If you have a freezer that will accommodate the baking tray, great. If you don't, skip this step.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (204℃). Make sure you have a rack in the top 1/3 of the oven.
- Get the discs out of the freezer. Using a very sharp knife (I like my bread knife because it’s nice and flat), cut each disc into four scones (for a total of 16 scones). Make sure you cut straight down (no see-saw action).
- Arrange the cut scones on the parchment-covered baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between each scone. Put the scones in the oven for 13 minutes.
- While the scones are cooking, mix together your schmooey. One or both…if it’s both, don’t forget to half each recipe. Use a medium-size bowl to whisk together your powdered sugar, milk and extract.
- Check the scones when the timer goes off…are they cracked, with just the slightest pale tan happening? If so, they’re done. Another test: gently press down on the middle. It should feel soft, but firm.
- Let them cool on the pan for about 15 minutes. At this point, let your inner artist out and start flinging the schmooey about like a pro. Sprinkle with the chopped pepitas + pecans if you're feeling it.
I’ve made these twice now and they’re SO GOOD!! We’re getting ready to have a baby, and I’m looking for recipes I can make ahead of time and freeze. Do you have any tips for how or at what step to freeze these? Thank you!!
Hi Kaitlin!! And congratulations!! That’s exciting news!!
Here’s my tip for freezing, (and they freeze like a dream!): take the recipe all the way until the scones are shaped, but unbaked. Place them on a parchment covered baking sheet, in a single layer, and stash in the freezer until they are frozen (this takes several hours). Then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then foil and then place them in an air-tight container. The foil and plastic wrap kill me (environmentally), but I’m not sure of a better way to keep them fresh. When it’s time to bake them, you can either let them sit out for a bit until they have thawed a touch (maybe 30 minutes-ish) or they can go straight from the freezer to the oven. Either method, you’ll need to bake them longer so they’re baked through. Please reach out with any more questions!!! xox