These pumpkin scones are super simple to make! Their incredible pumpkin spice flavor and irresistible double glaze of vanilla and spiced pumpkin always make me smile. These are such a warm and cozy fall treat!
Starbucks may have discontinued their beloved pumpkin scones, but don’t worry! Years ago, we perfected a copycat recipe that is even better than the original. Get ready to fall in love with these homemade pumpkin scones!
So many of our readers LOVE these spiced pumpkin scones, they are one of our most popular pumpkin recipes! Our recipe has lots of pumpkin puree and a delicious blend of fall spices. Then they are topped with not one but two irresistible glazes: a classic vanilla glaze and a drizzle of spiced pumpkin glaze. Trust me, you’re going to love them.
How to Make Spiced Pumpkin Scones
These pumpkin scones are so easy to make and unbelievably delicious. I love them with both glazes, but you can also choose to make them plain or with just one glaze (they’re all great options).
Cold butter is the secret to making the best scones. It’s essential for that tender, flaky texture we love. We use cold butter in every scone recipe we’ve shared, including our cranberry scones and blackberry lemon scones.
Another important tip is to avoid overworking your dough (which is also a fundamental rule for flaky biscuits and pie crusts.)
To make these pumpkin scones, we start by combining dry ingredients with plenty of warm fall spices. Then, we “cut” in cold butter by hand or with quick pulses in a food processor. Once the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (see photo), we add the wet ingredients, including pumpkin puree. When I have it, I use homemade pumpkin puree and love it!
Pat the dough into a rectangle and cut it into triangles or any shape you like. See all those specks of butter in the photo below? They’re the magic behind the tenderness and incredible flavor of these scones.
After baking and cooling the scones, you can glaze them. As mentioned, they’re delicious plain, but the glazes take them to another level. You can use just one or both, but for the ultimate experience, we highly recommend the double glaze. Combining a simple vanilla glaze and a spiced pumpkin glaze creates a beautiful look and an irresistible flavor.
The vanilla glaze is made with cream, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla, while the pumpkin glaze starts with the same base but adds pumpkin puree and fall spices.
Once you’ve glazed the scones, grab your favorite coffee or a homemade pumpkin spice latte and enjoy! For more fall treats, I highly recommend our delicious pumpkin cupcakes or these amazing pumpkin pancakes!
Spiced Pumpkin Scones
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
These incredible pumpkin scones are inspired by a treat sold at Starbucks many years ago! I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but trust us, this pumpkin scones recipe is really easy to make. I’ve included two glazes, and they are incredible, but you can always stick with just one or leave the scones plain. We’ve had them all three ways and loved them all.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
Pumpkin Scones2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (65 grams) brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 tablespoons (115 grams or 1 stick) cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup (115 grams) pumpkin puree, see our homemade pumpkin puree recipe
1 tablespoon molasses (we use Blackstrap Unsulphured Molasses)
3 tablespoons half and half or cream
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Vanilla Glaze1 cup (125g) powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon heavy cream, or more as needed
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pumpkin Spice Glaze1 cup (125g) powdered sugar, sifted
1 to tablespoon heavy cream, or more as needed
1 tablespoon pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Directions
- Make Pumpkin Scones
1Center a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2Whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg until blended.
3Cut the cold butter into small cubes, then scatter over the flour mixture.
4Use a pastry cutter or your hands to “cut” the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few pea-sized bits of butter, about 5 minutes. (You can use the pulse function of a food processor for this step.)
5Whisk the pumpkin puree, molasses, cream, egg, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl until blended.
6Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour and butter mixture until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Knead 3 to 4 times until it comes together.
7Pat the dough into a 10-inch by 7-inch rectangle (or use a rolling pin).
8Cut the rectangle into 8 rectangles, then cut each rectangle into 2 triangles, making 16 scones.
9Transfer the scones to the baking sheet, then bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
- Glaze the Scones
1To make the vanilla glaze, whisk powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of cream and the vanilla. If it is too thick, add a little more cream.
2To make the pumpkin spice glaze, whisk powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of cream, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. If it is too thick, add a little more cream.
3Dip the cooled scones directly into the vanilla glaze, then place them on the cooling rack, glazed side facing up.
4Use a spoon to drizzle a zigzag pattern of the pumpkin spice glaze across each scone. Wait 15 minutes or until the glaze has set, and then enjoy!
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Pumpkin scones are best eaten fresh. If you do have leftovers, your best bet for keeping them fresh is to freeze them. Freeze baked and cooled scones until hard, then transfer to resealable plastic bags. Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Make ahead: You can freeze unbaked scone dough. Chill cut scones in the freezer until firm, and then transfer to resealable plastic bags. Keep up to a month. Bake in a 400ºF oven straight from the freezer. (They may take a few extra minutes).
- Molasses: This adds a backbone to the flavor of these scones. You can leave it out or substitute maple syrup if you do not have any and do not wish to buy a whole bottle for 1 tablespoon.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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I just made these– they are DELICIOUS! Only subs were maple syrup for molasses and half and half for heavy cream. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. I would totally recommend this recipe!
These are awesome! My first try was a HUGE success. I added some chopped pecans on top of the vanilla glaze before i drizzled the pumpkin glaze. OMG! Thank you for the recipe!
A very delicious recipe – hard to stop eating it. Just right sweetness and blend of spices. Made the recipe to use up some of my Pumpkin purée.
Picture perfect and delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe. My son’s picky friend asked for some scones to take home with him. I don’t think my texture was very scone like but it was probably due to me not using cold butter.
Had to add some extra flour (maybe 1/3 cup?) to make the dough handle-able; subbed cardamom for the cloves; skipped the glaze but dipped each piece in coarse sugar before baking. These were a big hit with my family and they’re easy to prep ahead and then bake from frozen.
This recipe is easy to follow and the scones are so delicious! I love making them when I have a bit of pumpkin left that I don’t know what to do with. Definitely a favorite pumpkin recipe!
Made this today and had one to try~. Super delicious! I only bothered to glaze with the pumpkin and seasoning though 😉 I’m also leaving four unglazed for members of my family who don’t like frosting but whatever that’s just me being nice. I’ll have my family try them after dinner. Easy recipe and quick to make. Thanks!
I just made the Pumpkin scones. They are the best I have ever had. Love the glaze. I separated the dough and put chocolate chips in the second batch.
This recipe was nice in texture and sweetness, however, way too spiced. I will reduce cloves to 1/4 teaspoon next time.
I don’t have a picture nor did I make these scones, but I did eat one. I baby sat my toddler grandson today – had not had breakfast when I spotted these beautiful pumpkin scones on the counter. Of course I helped myself. I was sure a professional or experienced baker made them because they were so delicious and beautiful. Found out my firefighter son made them. I’ll definitely be making these. Yum!
They’re in the oven as we speak, I can’t wait to get them glazed and enjoy them with a cup of coffee. I also split the dough in half and added minced dates, dried cranberries and coconut flakes to one half. I think that’s going to be amazing
I’m so excited to try this! I’m pregnant and my doctor has instructed me to not go out unless it is absolutely necessary since covid is so dangerous, especially when you are pregnant. I’ve been dreaming of pumpkin scones but have never made them! Making these tonight after my daughter goes to bed I hope she will love them too! Thank you for including a video it is super helpful!
Sooo good! Tasts like spice cake. I only had salted butter and mixed the dry ingredients a bit too much in the food processor but they’re still delicious!
These were easy to pull together and tasted wonderfully light and flaky with great depth of pumpkin spice flavor. Not overly sweet even with the pumpkin glaze. No cloyingly artificial pumpkin spice taste either. I just used the pumpkin spice glaze to save some time. Did not sift my powdered sugar and the glaze easily came together smoothly without lumps. I did find I had to add about 3 tablespoons of cream to get to nice consistency. Perhaps it was due to using heavy cream which is so thick anyway.
Simply, excellent and as close to Starbucks as you could get!