Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze

Square side shot of a plate of pumpkin scones on a breakfast table

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Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze

These bakery-style maple-glazed pumpkin scones are moist, buttery, and full of warm spices!

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine American

Keyword pumpkin scone recipe, pumpkin scones, pumpkin scones with maple glaze

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Chilling Time 15

Total Time 55

Servings scones

Calories 293kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ cup (half of a stick) very cold salted butter
1 large egg
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup heavy cream, plus extra as needed
½ cup pure pumpkin puree
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Maple Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 drops maple extract or 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream, plus more as needed to thin
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Line a sheet pan with parchment or silicone mat.

Make the Scones:

In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
Using the large holes on a box grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture. Toss to coat the butter in flour, working the butter into the mixture. The little pieces of butter should be coated in flour and should resemble the size of small peas.
In a large measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, cream, and pumpkin.
Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon to mix everything together just until combined (do not over-mix). Gradually add a little bit more cream, as needed, to bring the dough together. It should be a little bit dry and crumbly, but should just hold together. If you add too much cream and the dough gets wet and sticky, sprinkle in some extra flour.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead it lightly and quickly just a few times, and then shape it into a ball. Press down on the dough with your palms and flatten it into a circle that’s about 1-inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or a knife coated in flour, cut the circle into 8 wedges.
Transfer the wedges to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch between each scone.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator or freezer for about 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400°F.
Remove the cover, brush the tops of the scones with a little bit of cream, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and the insides are fully baked. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly while you make the glaze.

Make the Glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup or maple extract, 1 tablespoon of cream, and a pinch of salt. Gradually add more cream until you have a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle the icing over the scones.

Notes

Properly measure the flour. Always spoon and level the flour or weigh it on a kitchen scale -- do not scoop it out of the package. Incorrectly measuring the flour packs it too tightly into the measuring cup and results in dense, dry scones.
Keep the dough cold. I'll say it again -- the key to tall, fluffy and tender scones is cold ingredients. Don't forget to chill the dough in the refrigerator or freezer for 15 minutes before baking.
If the butter or the dough gets too warm, the scones will spread and fall flat in the oven. That's why it's important to work quickly and not handle the dough too much.
Be careful not to overwork the dough, or you’ll end up with tough, dry scones.
The heavy cream is an important ingredient. Avoid thinner liquids such as milk or almond milk, which will just lead to dry, bland, flat scones. Brushing the tops of the scones with extra cream before baking helps them brown in the oven, too!

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