Fluffy Pumpkin Scones (No Cream, No Buttermilk, No Milk)

Name: Fluffy Pumpkin Scones Recipe (No Cream, No Buttermilk, No Milk)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 3 cups flour; ¼ cup brown sugar ((light or dark)); 2 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp baking soda; 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice ((or make your own blend, see note)); ¾ tsp kosher salt; 8 tbsp unsalted butter ((1 stick)); 2 eggs; ⅔ cup pumpkin puree; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 2 tbsp unsalted butter; ⅓ cup pure maple syrup; 1 cup confectioners sugar; ¼ tsp kosher salt

These fluffy pumpkin scones are light, flaky, crumbly, and loaded with pumpkin spice flavor! There's no cream, no buttermilk, and no milk in the dough, and no need to chill them before baking! They're quick and easy, ready in 40 minutes. The maple glaze is the perfect icing for a taste of fall!

Pumpkin scones with maple glaze lined up on a gray surface.

This easy fluffy pumpkin scones recipe makes scones that rise high every time. They are not too sweet and have a light, crumbly texture.

What's the secret? Believe it or not, it's because they're made without heavy cream or buttermilk. This way the scones stay flaky, and don't get cakey.

The pumpkin puree provides most of the moisture we need for the scones, so there's no need for extra ingredients. This gives us maximum pumpkin flavor with nothing to water it down.

Want to keep the that delicious pumpkin spice vibe going all season? Try my pumpkin brownies, or my pumpkin mousse!

Small bowls of ingredients including flour, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, baking soda and powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and eggs.

Fluffy pumpkin scones ingredients

For the pumpkin scones:

All purpose flour: Plain old AP flour works just fine.
Pumpkin pie spice: For ease of use, we'll use pumpkin pie spice to flavor the scones, but if you prefer to create your own blend from spices you have on hand, that is fine, too. Combine ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg.
Dark or light brown sugar: I always prefer dark brown sugar for the intense caramelized flavor it lends to baked goods, but you can absolutely use light brown sugar.
Baking powder and baking soda: Using both is a key to making these pumpkin scones light and fluffy!
Unsalted butter: We'll place the butter in the freezer for a bit before we mix it in. This keeps the dough cold and means you don't need to chill it.
Kosher salt: I love a good balance of salty and sweet. It's crucial here.
Canned pumpkin puree: Make sure you are getting canned pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. Use what's left over in the can to make pumpkin cookies!
Eggs: For this particular scone recipe, there is no heavy cream, so we need an extra egg for moisture and to hold everything together.
Vanilla: To meld all those fall flavors!

For the maple glaze:

Powdered sugar, melted unsalted butter, kosher salt, pure maple syrup: Make sure you are using pure maple syrup, not the kind with other sugars added.

*Ingredients with measurements are listed in the recipe card below.

How to make pumpkin scones

A whisk in a bowl with flour, pumpkin pie spice and other dry ingredients.

Step 1: Freeze the butter and mix the dry ingredients

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut your butter into small cubes and place in the freezer for about 10 to 15 minutes while you gather the other ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

Step 2: Work the butter into the scone dough

Add the cubed butter to the dry ingredients and toss to coat.

A woman's hand holding flour and butter that has been blended together over a bowl of flour with a pastry blender in it.

Then use a pastry blender or your fingers to work the butter into the dough until it is the size of small peas.

A whisk in a bowl of pumpkin puree blended with eggs.

Step 3: Add the pumpkin puree and eggs

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin purée together until completely smooth.

Pumpkin puree mixture poured into a well in the center of a bowl of flour.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the pumpkin mixture into it.

Shaggy pumpkin scone dough coming together in a glass bowl.

Step 4: Bring the dough together

Working from the outside edge of the bowl, use a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula to move the flour toward the center and gently mix in the liquid.

A shaggy dough will form. Don't over-mix it or try to get all of the flour coated with wet ingredients yet.

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A woman's hands shaping pumpkin scone dough before cutting it.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and bring it together with your hands. Use a bench scraper to turn the dough onto itself a few times until it mostly holds together. This is called laminating the dough. See tips below.

A disc of pumpkin scone dough next to a bench scraper.

Step 5: Shape the pumpkin scones and bake!

Gently press the scone dough into a ¾-inch thick circle or square (or square-ish circle) and use the bench scraper or a knife to cut into 8 triangular shaped pieces. Some dry flour may still be visible and that is okay.

Place the scones about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until they are just barely turning golden brown.

Step 6: Make the maple glaze

While the pumpkin scones are baking, add the maple syrup, melted butter, powdered sugar and salt to a small bowl and whisk until all the sugar is incorporated. Set aside.

Step 7: Glaze the scones and serve!

Slide the the parchment paper with the scones still on it onto a rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Drizzle the glaze over the top while they are still warm and serve.

Use the glaze to ice or just drizzle

You should have enough glaze to ice the scones completely or just drizzle them, whichever you prefer. Or do half of them iced and half of them drizzled! If the glaze starts to thicken up too much, just pop it into the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until it loosens up again.

Expert tips

Don't over-mix the dough: To keep scones tender, handle the dough as little as possible. Just bring it together gently with a wooden spoon or spatula, and then your hands. Once you bring it into a circle or square, don't worry about making the surface smooth. Those lines and crags will turn into great texture on top!
Use cold butter and cold eggs: We want those two ingredients to create steam once they hit the hot oven so our pumpkin scones rise as high as possible.
There are a few things you can do to keep the scone dough cold: If your kitchen is hot, you can chill everything! Chill the bowl you're using, chill all the ingredients including the flour, or pop the shaped scones into the freezer for 10 minutes or so before baking. (This last option could lengthen the baking time.)

For the lightest, fluffiest scones, laminate the dough!

You might only think of laminating dough when you make something like puff pastry, but a very simplified version of this technique will also give a lift to your scones! The cold butter gets in between the layers of dough to puff them up. Gently turn the dough over onto itself a few times with a bench scraper, your hands or a large spatula. It's as simple as that!

FAQ

Why won't my pumpkin scones rise?

There could be a few reasons. First, make sure your baking soda and baking powder have not expired, these rising agents need to be fresh for tall, fluffy and flaky pumpkin scones. Second, make sure you are using very cold butter. If the butter is too warm, it will not create the steam needed for the scones to rise once it hits the oven. Finally, did you take a long time to shape and cut the dough in a warm kitchen? Warm scone dough will spread instead of rising.

Should you rest scones before baking?

These pumpkin scones can go straight into the oven, no need to rest the dough. The only reason you might want to chill them before baking is if you feel like the ingredients got too warm when you were mixing and shaping the dough.

More scone recipes

Debra's Details: Pumpkin scones are quick, easy, and fluffy!

They go from mixing bowl, to oven, to eating in about 40 minutes!
No need to chill the dough.
Extra fluffy because they're made without cream.
Easy to make in one bowl!
Not overly sweet.
Coat the top completely with maple glaze, or just drizzle it.

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