A step-by-step recipe for easy pumpkin scones with vanilla cream cheese frosting.
Pumpkin scones are pillowy soft, light and flaky, deliciously buttery with a hint of savoury sweetness. The vanilla cream cheese frosting perfectly compliments the pumpkin spice flavour of the scone creating a delectable combination.
Pumpkin spice season is inevitably upon us. And as the chilly fall weather starts to roll in its time to start baking those comforting recipes!
If you love fall baking, you have to make my Apple Rum Monkey Bread and my homemade Pumpkin Pie!
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Ingredients
- All purpose flour
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Salt
- Butter
- Eggs
- Milk
- Pumpkin puree
- Vanilla extract
- Cream cheese
- Confectioners sugar
Refer to the recipe card for the quantities required.
How to make light, flaky pumpkin scones
Scones are one of the easier pastries to prepare and they don't have to look perfect to be delicious!
Here are the step-by-step instructions to prepare flawless, easy pumpkin scones.
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
Using a pastry cutter, cut in the chilled butter.
Continue cutting in the butter until the butter chunks are roughly the size of a pea.
In a separate mixing bowl combine the combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract.
Hot Tip- Be careful to not work the dough too much. You do not want the butter to melt in the dough. If the butter melts in the dough you will be left with a more bread like scone, rather than a light and flaky one.
Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry until a shaggy dough forms.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and gently gather the dough into a ball. Press the dough into a flat disc shape that is roughly 9" in circumference.
(you can see in the photo above that the butter pieces are still visible in the dough. This is what you want for a light and flaky scone)
Using a knife or bench scraper, cut the dough disc into 8 equal triangles.
Transfer the scone triangles to a baking sheet, separating them so there is plenty of room between them.
Bake the scones until they puff up and are lightly golden brown. Transfer them to a baking rack to cool completely before adding the frosting.
Prepare the frosting and using a piping bag or a ziplock with the corner snipped off, drizzle the frosting overtop of the scones.
Substitutions
- Fresh Sugar Pumpkin - see my post pumpkin pie from scratch to learn how to bake a sugar pumpkin to use in place of canned pumpkin puree.
Storing the Leftovers
Store pumpkin scones in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
FAQ
Keeping the butter chunks in tact while forming the dough is imperative. If the butter melts in the dough you will be left with a dense, bread like scone instead of a flaky one!
Related Recipes
Looking for other fall recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
Looking to serve these as a dessert? Pair with one of these main dish recipes for an outstanding meal!
🗒️ Recipe
Easy Pumpkin Scones with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour + more for dusting
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- 2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ cup Butter cold and cut into ½" cubes
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- ½ cup Milk
- ⅔ cup Pumpkin Puree
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Cream Cheese Vanilla Frosting
- 4 oz Cream Cheese softened
- ¾ cup Confectioners Sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
To make the scones:
- In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and kosher salt. Stir ingredients together.
- Add cold, cubed butter to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse pea sized cubes. Set aside.
- In another bowl combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, egg yolk, milk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. Using a hand blender or whisk, blend it until smooth.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon or spatula. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and with floured hands work the dough into a ball.
- Flatten the dough ball into a 9 inch round disc.
- Using a knife or bench scraper, cut the disc into 8 wedges.
- Place the wedges on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and bake for 15-17 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown.
- Let cool completely before adding the cream cheese vanilla frosting.
To make the Cream Cheese Vanilla Frosting:
- In a small mixing bowl add the cream cheese and blend with a hand mixer until softened.
- Add the confectioners sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Blend until smooth.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag or a ziplock bag. Snip off a small corner of the ziplock or the tip of the piping bag and drizzle frosting overtop of the pumpkin scones.
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