Just over two weeks ago, my parents brought home a new puppy, a cute little golden retriever boy. He’s super fluffy, full of energy, and always nibbling! Sometimes on sweatshirt strings, sometimes on shoelaces, and sometimes on the rocks in the wall on the side of the house. Don’t ask…
Whenever we catch him chewing on something he isn’t supposed to, we gently shove a toy towards his mouth while sneakily removing the tempting tree branch or tanbark previously occupying his jaws. With a huge basket full of toys from our two previous dogs, this little puppy is already spoiled… But as an empty nester, my mom still dotes on him by buying lots of new tennis balls and squeaky stuffed animals!
When she arrives home from work in the afternoons, Mom grabs a small handful of treats and ushers the puppy into the backyard where they work on various tricks. So far, he’s gotten really good at “Sit” and “Stay,” but his “Down” and “GENTLE!!!” could use a little work next week!
One day last week, while I putzed around in the makeshift laundry room “kitchen,” Mom deviated from their routine and brought the puppy into the front yard for training instead. Somewhat isolated from the street yet still without a fence, the puppy decided to make a run for it and chased birds, squirrels, and wild turkeys off of the lawn.
Slightly frazzled, Mom tried calling and chasing after him, but after napping all afternoon, that little pup had way too much energy and sprinted all around the lawn!
When she eventually wrangled him up and clipped on his leash to lead him back to the house, Mom tempted him towards the side door by asking, “Do you want a treat? Do you want a treat?”
Chuckling a little on the inside, I repeated the same thing to her as she walked into the room, offering her a plate of these…
Maple Pumpkin Scones! Full of cozy fall flavors, these lightly spiced breakfast treats are perfect for slowly savoring on chilly mornings. With their sweet hints of maple syrup and irresistible pumpkin taste, they easily beat out pancakes—and they’re just as simple to make!
Many people think of scones as dry, crumbly, or fat-laden pastries. These healthy ones are anything but! They’re made from only wholesome, clean eating ingredients—nothing refined or processed at all.
Both whole wheat and gluten free flours work really well in this easy recipe. Regardless of which you choose, make sure you measure it correctly with the spoon-and-level method. If you scoop the flour directly from the bag, you’ll end up with 1.5 times as much, which would really dry out the scones.
Tip: For the best results, use a kitchen scale! I own and love this inexpensive one, and it really helps cut down on dishes too. Fewer measuring cups to wash = one happy baker!
You only use 2 tablespoons of butter in this entire recipe. Compared to ½ to 1 cup of butter in typical scones, that’s practically nothing! The rest of the soft texture comes from the pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling… that’s loaded with extra sugar!), which adds tons of moisture without the extra fat and calories. These were seriously some of the softest, moistest scones I’ve ever tasted, and both of my parents were completely in awe of their incredible texture!
When stirring everything together, do NOT over-mix the dough. Over-mixing does two things to scones: (a) it over-develops the gluten strands, making them tough and chewy, and (b) it warms up the chilled butter, which ruins the light airy texture of the insides and turns the scones dense and gummy instead. Mix the dough until all of the ingredients are just barely incorporated; then shape it into slightly flattened spheres to bake.
To me, scones must have a tender inside and lightly crisp crust on the outside. Without the crust, they’d just be misshapen muffins! So to create that, we’ll brush them with a combination of milk and maple syrup. The milk helps form the crust, while the sugar in the syrup slightly crystallizes while baking, adding to the characteristic crispness. It’s the best part, especially when you add the glaze!
And the glaze is super simple… Just Greek yogurt and maple syrup. The syrup is already sweet enough on its own and doesn’t need powdered sugar too, so the yogurt helps thicken it to create a drizzle-able (yes, that’s now a word!) consistency. For picture-perfect drizzles, use a zip-topped baggie with the corner snipped off. It always works like a charm!
Although they look really impressive, these Maple Pumpkin Scones are a cinch to whip up! From start to serving, they’re ready in just 45 minutes, making them perfect for weekend brunches or satisfying any carb cravings.
Ready to bake your own?
These fall-flavored scones are so simple to make! The insides are soft and tender, while the lightly crisp crust on the outside is the perfect complement.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and cover a baking sheet with foil. Lightly coat the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the scones, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles a fine meal. Add in the pumpkin purée, 8 teaspoons maple syrup, and 10 teaspoons of milk, mixing until just incorporated.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal portions, and shape each into a ball. Place onto the prepared baking sheet, and flatten slightly. Mix together the remaining 1/8 teaspoon maple syrup and ½ teaspoon milk in a small bowl, and brush over the tops of the scones. Bake at 425°F for 12-14 minutes, or until light golden brown on top. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
- Once the scones have cooled, stir together the yogurt and maple syrup in a small bowl. Add to a small zip-topped bag, snip off the corner, and drizzle over the cooled scones.
Notes: For the gluten-free flour, I used as follows: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¼ cup (35g) brown rice flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum.
For a vegan version, substitute Earth Balance buttery sticks in place of the butter, your favorite non-dairy milk in place of the nonfat milk, and soy, coconut, or almond yogurt in place of the Greek yogurt.
Hi! These look delicious – I love pumpkin! I was wondering if you can substituted all purpose flour for the whole wheat flour and if so, would you use the same amount? Thank you so much – I can’t wait to try these!
Yes, you can substitute all-purpose flour! You’ll need the same amount, just like you guessed. I can’t wait to hear what you think of the scones Erin! 🙂
I’m confused about how much maple syrup and milk to use. In the ingredients, it looks like 8 1/8 teaspoons of maple syrup, so only 1 tsp of maple syrup? In the directions, you say add your 8 teaspoons, so 8 teaspoons or 1. The same thing with the milk, 5 teaspoons or 10 go into the scones? I don’t want to make these and have them flop so help would be great!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Stacey! For those measurements, imagine a + sign in between the number and fraction. It’s 8 + 1/8 teaspoons of maple syrup and 10 + ½ teaspoons of milk in the scone dough, and 1 + ½ teaspoons of maple syrup in the glaze. (That’s true for all of my recipes where you see that in the future!) 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the scones!
Hi as I can’t diary is there anyway to substitute the butter?
Earth Balance’s buttery sticks are the best substitute for the butter! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the scones Sky!
Hi Amy, wrote down maple scones sounds wonderful but wanted to know if you can use almond flour?
Almond flour will work, but the scones will turn out denser in texture. I’d love to hear what you think if you try these Amy!
Hey! I tried these a few days ago, and I don’t know what I did wrong, but they did not turn out well at ALL! The flavor was fine, but the texture was dense and almost pasty: not scone-like at all, and quite unpleasant. I doubled the recipe, and can only figure that I made some mistake along the way by doing so (though I can’t figure out where). I did find the use of so many teaspoons as a measure to be cumbersome and confusing, and used a chart and a calculator to convert to the equivalent fraction of cups. I also used part whole wheat flour, and part all-purpose. It doesn’t seem like these changes would have caused my disaster, though!
I saved the unused dough and intend to mix it with some oats, brown sugar, and a little more butter- I suspect it will make some decent oatmeal cookies.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Kit! That’s not how the scones are supposed to turn out, so let’s figure out what happened so your next batch turns out perfectly tender. 🙂 How did you measure the flour? With measuring cups or a kitchen scale? If the latter, can you explain in detail what you did? Did you make any modifications besides doubling the recipe? We’ll get this sorted out — I promise!
These turned out AMAZING! I love the lightness of the flavor. I’m always looking for treats to have with my afternoon cup of tea and after eating healthier, found most store bought treats too “artificial” tasting. Your recipes are so easy to follow and have just enough sweetness. I LOVE how I can make homemade goodies at home now with clean ingredients very quickly. So glad to have found your website!!
I’m so glad you loved these scones Terra! That means so much to me! 🙂 If you’re interested, you can find all of my scone recipes here. I’d love to hear what you think if you try any of those other recipes too!
Hi there can you substitute honey for the maple syrup?
Yes, that’s fine! I can’t wait to hear what you think of these scones Hannah! 🙂
In the note section You said how you made the whole wheat flour. Is this note for home made whole what flour or is it in addition to store bought whole wheat flour ?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Sarah! I’m not quite sure what you mean. I didn’t mention anything about making my own whole wheat flour in the Notes section of this particular recipe — I just used regular store-bought whole wheat flour! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these scones if you try them!
You said “For the gluten-free flour, I used as follows: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¼ cup (35g) brown rice flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum”. Does this mean you used millet flour , brown rice flour , tapioca flour , and x gum in addition to whole wheat flour ? The receipt just saws whole wheat flour . I’m confused about all the other flours .
Thanks for clarifying, Sarah! The recipes says to use whole wheat flour OR gluten-free flour. If using the gluten-free flour option, that’s what I recommend in the Notes section. If using whole wheat flour, do not use the gluten-free flour blend in the Notes section. Does that make sense? 🙂
Oh , silly me ! I get it ! ??♀️??♀️??♀️
Thank you !!!!! Can’t wait to make these !
It’s my pleasure, Sarah!! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 I’m really excited to hear what you think of these scones!