Crumbly and light, these pumpkin cranberry scones are a perfect breakfast or snack during the fall season!
Today, we are combining pumpkin with one of my all-time favorite loves: scones.
Out of all the breakfast pastries, I always gravitate towards scones. I think it's because they have such a unique texture and taste — crumbly yet soft, they are usually not overly sweet. Plus, they are especially delicious when paired with a steaming cup of tea or coffee.
And believe me when I say these pumpkin cranberry scones are the epitome of fall. Packed full of that delicious pumpkin flavor and studded with dried cranberries, they practically exude coziness.
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Why You're Going to Love This Recipe
Fall comfort food at its best. From the addition of pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice, these scones have all the fall flavors you could ever want. Why not enjoy them with a big ol' cup of coffee on a chilly fall morning?
The spiced glaze. After taking these scones out of the oven, I like to generously drizzle a homemade spiced glaze over the top of them. Because in my book, the more glaze, the better when it comes to scones.
Perfect for brunch. These scones would be the highlight of any brunch table. Whip up a batch in the morning for a delicious weekend brunch, or serve them on Thanksgiving morning!
Tips for Making These Scones
Keep your butter as cold as possible. When you cut cold butter into your mixture, it stays solid until it goes into the oven. Once the scones start to bake, the butter melts and creates those flaky layers that we all know and love. When making your scones, keep the butter in the fridge (or even the freezer) right up to the moment that you need to use it.
Don’t overmix your dough. Overmixing your dough leads to tough and chewy scones, which nobody wants! After adding in your liquid ingredients, make sure to only mix until just combined.
Chill your scones in the freezer before baking. Chilling the scones in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before baking lets them firm up and helps the gluten relax. This also helps keep the butter cold, which enhances those beautiful flaky layers.
Common Questions About These Scones
While you can cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a mixer, I personally recommend using a pastry cutter. If you don't have one on hand, you can use a fork instead, but it will take a bit longer. Simply press the pastry cutter into the butter chunks, cut the butter, and wipe the cutter every so often until the butter chunks are lentil-sized.
When making scones, it's essential that the butter is as cold as possible. When the butter is cold, it stays solid until it hits the heat of the oven. Then, it melts in the oven, creating flaky layers and helping the scones rise.
Yes! When mixing the dough together, make sure not to overmix. Once you add in the liquid ingredients, you want to mix only until everything is just combined. Same goes for when you add in the dried cranberries! If you mix for ages and ages, you run the risk of ending up with tough scones.
Once you transfer the scones to the sheet pan lined with parchment paper, you want to create an 8-inch disk by patting the dough down. If you find that the dough is too crumbly at this point, you can brush on a bit more heavy cream. Alternatively, if you find the dough is too wet, you can sprinkle on a bit of flour.
Chilling the scones helps them firm up and rise more in the oven. If it's hot in your kitchen, the scones can get a bit too soft, so chilling them in the freezer for a bit will help them maintain their shape.
After they've completely cooled, you can store scones in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days at room temperature. If they haven't been glazed yet, you can also wrap them in plastic and keep them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
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Pumpkin Cranberry Scones
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 scones 1x
Description
Crumbly and light, these pumpkin cranberry scones are a perfect breakfast or snack during the fall season!
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cranberry Scones:
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (71g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- ½ cup (114g) pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
- 1 large egg (50g)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream + extra for brushing
- ½ cup (57g) dried cranberries
- Optional: turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top
Spiced Glaze:
- 1 ¼ cup (141g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204.4°C). Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Mix together the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Then, use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut in the butter until the butter is about lentil-sized. You still want there to be visible chunks of butter.
- Finish making the scones: In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, egg, vanilla extract, and heavy cream. Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Finally, fold in the dried cranberries until evenly distributed.
- Shape the scones: Transfer the dough to the parchment paper-lined sheet tray and pat it into a circle (if the dough is sticky, feel free to sprinkle a bit of flour on top). Continue patting the dough until it forms an 8-inch disk, then use a bench scraper or knife to cut the circle into 8 wedges. Once cut, freeze the scones for 30 minutes (this lets the gluten relax and helps the dough firm up before baking).
- Bake the scones: Next, separate the scones from each other on the sheet tray, then brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake the scones in the preheated oven for 25-28 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of one comes out clean.
- Glaze the scones: While the scones are cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and milk. When the scones are still warm, drizzle the glaze over them and serve.
- Stored in an airtight container, these scones will stay fresh for 2-3 days. However, they taste the best when they're fresh out of the oven! If they haven't been glazed, they can also be frozen for up to two months.
Notes
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can substitute the following for 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice: ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice.
- Butter: When making scones, you want your butter to be as cold as possible. After cubing the butter, I recommend keeping it in the fridge or freezer until you need to add it to the recipe.
- Turbinado Sugar: I like to sprinkle a bit of turbinado sugar on top of scones before baking them. This helps them brown on top and gives them a delicious crunch. However, if you don't have any turbinado sugar on hand, you can leave it out of the recipe.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Chill Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: scones, pumpkin scones, cranberries, pumpkin cranberry scones, how to make scones
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