Fall is by far my favorite season. Although it officially started last month, it’s finally feeling like fall in my little part of the world. I just love the cool, crisp air, the changing colors of the leaves, their crunch underfoot, and of course, all things pumpkin!
One of my favorite pumpkin treats is Starbucks’ pumpkin scone. I adapted a copycat recipe that delivers that pumpkin-y goodness fresh from your own oven. These scones are simply delicious; they are tender with a nice crumble and are topped with a double layer of icing. The blend of spices will make your house smell heavenly while baking, too.
Scones are best enjoyed fresh and with friends, so invite a few over to share these beautifully sweet scones with a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Celebrate fall and enjoy! — v.
step-by-step instructions
Start by whisking together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
Next, slice cold butter into cubes and scatter on top of flour mixture.
Use your fingers, a pastry cutter or a food processor to cut the butter into the flour until it’s course and crumbly — kind of like soft beach sand. I don’t own a pastry cutter so the food processor is my usual go-to and it only takes about 3-4 pulses to reach the desired consistency.
After that, combine pumpkin puree, half-and-half, egg and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Add wet ingredients into dry and stir until a soft dough forms. The dough will be wet, but if it’s super sticky, add a little more flour — a tablespoon at a time — until it reaches a kneadable consistency; usually 3/4 cup or less of additional flour does the trick.
Pat dough onto a floured surface, then roll it into a 10-by-7-inch rectangle, about an inch thick.
With a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dough in half, both horizontally and vertically, to form 4 small rectangles. Then cut diagonally to form 8 triangles.
Pop those pumpkins into your preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
You can make the simple sugar and spiced glazes while the scones are cooling. For the simple sugar glaze, just add powdered sugar and half-and-half into a small bowl and mix until smooth. For the spiced glaze, add powdered sugar, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and half-and-half in another bowl and mix until smooth.
Once scones are completely cooled, dip the tops into simple sugar glaze to coat. Place glazed-side up on wire rack to dry.
Once that’s dry, drizzle spiced glaze back and forth with a spoon over each scone. Allow to dry before serving.
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Pumpkin Spice Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (+ up to 1 cup)
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 Tbsp half-and-half*
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
SIMPLE SUGAR GLAZE- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp half-and-half*
SPICED GLAZE- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp pumpkin puree
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- pinch nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp half-and-half*
* You may substitute with milk
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Step 2 In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt until blended. Scatter cut cubes of cold butter on top of flour mixture and work together with fingers or a pastry cutter until crumbly and resembles coarse cornmeal. (You can also use a food processor and pulse 3-4 times.)
- Step 3 In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, half-and-half, egg and vanilla extract until blended. Fold wet ingredients into dry until a soft dough forms. The dough will be wet, but if it’s too sticky, sprinkle a little flour — a tablespoon at a time, up to a cup — until it’s easier to handle. Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead 3-4 times until it comes together.
- Step 4 Roll the dough out into a 10 x 7″ rectangle, about 1 inch thick. With a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dough in half horizontally (lengthwise) and then again vertically (heightwise). You will now have 4 rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half diagonally (crosswise) for a total of 8 triangles.
- Step 5 Place scones onto prepared baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Prepare glazes while scones cool completely.
- Step 6 For the Simple Sugar Glaze: In a wide-mouth bowl, combine powdered sugar with half-and-half until smooth. Consistency-wise, it should drizzle back into the bowl slowly from a lifted spoon. If it’s too thick, add more half-and-half. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar. Dip cooled scones into the bowl to coat the top-half of each scone. Place glazed side up on wire rack to dry.
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Step 7
For the Spiced Glaze: In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, pumpkin puree, spices and half-and-half until smooth. Consistency should be similar to the Simple Sugar Glaze noted above. Using a spoon, drizzle glaze back and forth over the top of each scone. Allow glazes to set before serving.
This recipe is adapted from Inspired Taste.
Jim made these for our Saturday card night. They were delicious, we told him he should have made a double batch!!! Your instructions were to the letter. Everybody should make them, your family will love them as much as we did!!!
Awesomesauce! So glad you all enjoyed them!
I think I’m going to try it this weekend. Wish me luck!
Dorothy will love you! She loves pumpkin, right? Please let me know how you guys like them.