Growing up, I only knew of one way to eat pumpkin – in pie. My mom bought the pie once a year from a neighborhood bakery, served it for Thanksgiving dinner, and that was the beginning and end of pumpkin. Little did I know how incredibly versatile and delicious pumpkin can be.
Only a few years ago, I began to experiment. First I cooked pumpkin butter. Not exotic perhaps, but a revelation to me. Then I roasted pumpkin seeds, finding them rather addictive with a sweet and salty coating. My next foray was into the realm of cookies; adding pumpkin to traditional black-and-white cookies for a depth of flavor that is a pleasant surprise to those who know the traditional version with its vanilla cookie base.
Now I’ve ventured into breakfast and brunch territory, using pumpkin puree as a base for scones.
This post is part of Progressive Eats, a group that gets together online monthly to cook together on a theme. If you haven’t guessed already, we’re all about pumpkin this month. The pumpkin recipes at the end of this post, savory as well as sweet, comprise a veritable pumpkin-centered, multi-course banquet.
Anyway, back to Sugar-Topped Pumpkin Pecan Scones.
In my experience, most scone recipes include lots of cold butter cut into the dough. I wondered if there was a way to make a quicker version of a scone, without that cold butter step. In short, the answer is yes. My guide was a Bon Appetit lemon cream scone recipe that calls for brushing melted butter on top of the scones, but does not use any butter in the dough.
Adapting that recipe to include pumpkin puree (and reducing the amount of heavy cream by half) results in a simple scone that breaks apart nicely, is not overly sweet, and has a nice crunch from the sugar topping and the toasted pecans inside. In short, it’s a perfect complement to a simple breakfast or brunch. Of course, it you’re not having a meal, one of these pumpkin scones would also be a delightful snack with a steaming cup of coffee, tea, or cider.
There is no secret to making these scones. The dough is a bit sticky, but well floured hands solve that as you form it into a circle and cut it into pie-shaped wedges. I used white sugar for the topping; for an extra nubby finish, sprinkle it with raw sugar instead.
Scones are always best the day they are baked. But I stored these pumpkin pecan scones in foil, tightly wrapped and re-heated them in the toaster oven and they stayed delicious for several days.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 + 2 tablespoons cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup chopped and lightly toasted pecans
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree fresh or canned
- 3/4 cup heavy cream whipping
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Whisk together the flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add in the chopped and lightly roasted pecans and mix to combine them into the other dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, stir the pumpkin puree and the heavy cream, turning them into a thick liquid. Add that liquid to the dry ingredients and blend them just until they form a sticky dough.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and with lightly floured hands, form the dough into a circle about 10 inches in diameter. Cut the circle in half, then half again and cut each of the quarters then formed into thirds, so that you have 12 pie-shaped wedges.
- Separate the wedges and transfer them onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Brush the scones with the melted butter and sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until the tops get crusty and the edges begin to turn slightly brown.
- Transfer to a rack.
- Serve warm or wrap in foil and store at room temperature. Rewarm before serving if possible.
When forming the scones, it's best to use parchment, waxed paper, or a silicone mat such as a RoulPat because (unlike the countertop), you can get underneath them easily when transferring the scones onto the baking sheet. The best alternative is to use parchment cut to the size of the baking sheet, so you can simply slide it from the countertop to the baking sheet.
Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month’s theme is all about Pumpkin and is hosted by Jeanette Chen who blogs at Jeanette’s Healthy Living. With Autumn’s arrival, it’s the perfect time to start using fall’s harvest in our menus. We have some great ideas this month to use pumpkins in all sorts of dishes, both Savory and Sweet.
If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats, a theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out.
We have a core group of 12 bloggers, but we will always need substitutes and if there is enough interest would consider additional groups. To see our upcoming themes and how you can participate, please check out the schedule at Creative Culinary or contact Barb for more information.
Pumpkin
Savory
- Pumpkin Cappuccino Soup from The Wimpy Vegetarian
- Pasta with Mascarpone Pumpkin Sauce and Toasted Walnuts from Creative Culinary
- Kaddu Ka Ambal – Sweet and Tart Pumpkin Curry from Spice Roots
- Roasted Pumpkin Herb Focaccia from Pastry Chef Online
Sweet
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Brownies from Never Enough Thyme
- Pumpkin Cheesecake w/ Gingersnap Crust from All Roads Lead To The Kitchen
- Pumpkin scones from Mother Would Know
- Caramel Topped Pumpkin Cheesecake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Snack Cake from Miss In The Kitchen
- Skinny Pumpkin Chai Latte from Jeanette’s Healthy Living
Oh, wow, Laura! Your scones look so moist and tender and WONDERFUL! Perfect pumpkin treat to bring to the party!
Liz, Many thanks. I’ve come to see pumpkin as a much more versatile vegetable now that we’ve got such a grand line-up of dishes for our party. What fun!
Pumpkin scones are my absolute favorite. But I have not tried this brushing the butter on top method. The scones look wonderful!
Ansh, this butter-on-top method was definitely a time and effort-saver. Plus I loved the crunch of the sugar on top. thanks for stopping by.
I’ve never seen scones “built” using the muffin method–very cool! Bet you could make them as muffins too if you felt like it. There’s something so fancy about scones though. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up eating them that I consider them sort of upscale, but I do know that munching on one of these lovelies along with a cup of coffee would be a very upscale smackerel for me!
Haha, Jenni. I didn’t grow up eating them either, and like you somehow have gotten the feeling that calling them scones and making them in pie-shaped wedges is fancy. But I’d go for them as muffins too, especially with a cup of coffee and a place to sit next to you.
These look amazing!! Can almost taste them! You had me at pumpkin or maybe it was pecan…in any case, delicious!!
Sherri, Glad you like the sound of them – hope you’ll try them too.
I love the combination of pumpkin + pecans – these would be perfect for a weekend brunch!
Ah, Jeanette, that combination was delicious. Just thinking of them makes me want to whip up another batch. With your spicy pumpkin chai latte of course:)
We have quite a few pecan trees here on the ranch so these scones are definitely on my list to bake soon!
Fresh pecans – oooh, I am so jealous. Send pics please Milisa:)
Oh how I love a scone still warm from the oven! These pumpkin scones look magnificent. They must taste amazing with a cup of coffee!
Christin, Thanks for stopping by. Yes, you definitely should grab one of these fresh out of the oven.
I sure do enjoy a warm scone with a creamy cup of coffee! These are going to be perfect for our weekend brunch on Sunday.
Lana, So glad you and I are on the same page – scones and coffee for brunch, yes siree!!
Dear Laura, gorgeous scones!!! I’ve never made pumpkin scones before but now I must. Thanks for the autumn inspiration. xo
Allie, Thanks. I hope you’ll try them. Perfect for a chilly autumn afternoon when you’re glad for a chance to turn the oven on.
Oh boy, I can just imagine sinking my teeth through that crackling sugar crust and into a tender scone. I have some leftover puree in the fridge that I think is destined for a batch of these! I like that they’re just sweet enough, perfect for breakfast alongside my tea.
Glad you like them Heather. I love scones for breakfast too:)
I’m so fascinated by how you made these scones! I’m always looking for a way to lightened them – less butter and less cream. I’m definitely making these for Thanksgiving!
Susan, I was interested in this method because it is so untraditional for scones. They don’t come out as crumbly as regular scones, but were still delicious in an untraditional way:) Hope that you do make them.