As I was putting this post together, I realized that this recipe for pumpkin scones is the 6th scone recipe on the blog! Don’t tell the others, but they may be one of my favorites yet.

Scones have a special place in my heart. Growing up, my family made scones for most brunches and many special occasion, holiday, or vacation breakfasts. In addition to the delicious buttery, flaky texture, and the slightly sweet flavors (I mean, there was a clear reason we made them often), the memories behind them probably add to my excitement to make more and try new versions. I find that a lot of people have never had a good scone – one that isn’t dry and hard. The scones I make are always soft, flavorful, and deliciously buttery. One of my favorite ways to share the wonder of scones is to gift them to hostesses, new parents, friends, and coworkers.

Often the hostess receives so many bottles of wine, but is left at the end of the night with a sink full of dishes and after cooking all day, likely has little desire to cook the next morning. Bring a batch of frozen homemade scone dough for her to bake for breakfast and you become the new favorite party guest.

These pumpkin scones are my favorite fun breakfast for fall. They feel fancy, but come together so easily, and the flavor is delicious. I struggle to stop at just one (who am I kidding, I struggle to stop at two). The pumpkin puree makes the insides soft and tender and gives them that telltale pumpkin orange color, and the turbinado sugar sprinkled on top brings a little crunch to the outer shell.

I recently tried making scones in the food processor and it was a GAME CHANGER. A few pulses, and boom, you’re done. While cutting in the butter by hand honestly doesn’t take that long, I tend to over work the butter or it gets warm and too melty. The food processor is so quick that I don’t have to worry about that. You still have to make sure not to over process the dough, otherwise it won’t have the flakey texture we want, but the method is so so easy! I’ve included both ways in the instructions, in case you don’t have a magical food processor.

With their tender insides, crisp outsides, and pumpkin spice flavor galore, pumpkin scones are an easy, fun, magical fall breakfast.

Pumpkin Scones

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup butter, cold and cut into ¼-inch pieces
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons milk
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
• Egg wash: 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, two knives, or a few pulses of the food processor (8-12 pulses), cut the butter into the flour mixture, until there are pea-sized clumps throughout.

In another smaller bowl, mix together the milk and pumpkin puree.

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir or pulse just until combined, being careful not to overwork the dough. If the dough is too dry, add additional milk, one tablespoon at a time.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into a round or rectangle that is about 1 ½ to 2-inches thick. Cut into 6 to 8 pieces and put each piece on a baking sheet a few inches apart from each other. Brush the tops of the dough with egg wash and bake for 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden. Serve immediately.

Scones are best the day they are made, however, you can make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate until you are ready to bake them.

Notes

If you want to make these ahead, you can wrap the dough rounds in plastic wrap and freeze or refrigerate the dough until you are ready to use. If you are planning to bake them the next day, refrigeration is best, but if you won't bake them for a few days, or if you are gifting them to someone, freezing the dough is a better option. They can stay frozen for 2-3 weeks.