Freshly baked gluten-free Pumpkin Scones might be the best way to celebrate pumpkin spice season. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and creamy pumpkin purée bring fall flavors and natural sweetness to these moist and buttery treats. Enjoy a scone as a warm breakfast on the go or as an afternoon pick-me-up alongside––what else?––a pumpkin spiced latte.
Despite being wheat-free and refined sugar-free, this scone recipe is for everyone. Every bite is packed with naturally sweet pumpkin flavor, warming vanilla, and a hint of gingery spice.
How to Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones
The first important step in gluten-free baking is selecting the right ingredients. This is a very simple gluten-free scone recipe as there’s only one kind of flour: all-purpose. I love King Arthur 1:1 all-purpose flour for all of my baking projects.
One other important ingredient note: use very cold butter (I usually keep it in the freezer) for the best flaky layers. Right before using it, grate the frozen butter on the largest side of a box grater. This way, when the pieces of butter melt in the oven during baking, they release pockets of steam that give your scones lift and dozens of delicious layers.
Other than that, this recipe comes together like most flaky and buttery scone recipes. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wets in another. Then fold the two together until you have a shaggy ball of dough. Shape the dough into a thick disc, divide it into wedges, and bake until golden and your kitchen is filled with mouthwatering pumpkin aroma.
Pumpkin Scones (Gluten-Free)
Freshly baked gluten-free Pumpkin Scones might be the best way to celebrate pumpkin spice season. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and creamy pumpkin purée bring fall flavors and natural sweetness to these moist and buttery treats. Enjoy a scone as a warm breakfast on the go or as an afternoon pick-me-up alongside––what else?––a pumpkin spiced latte.
Ingredients
- 3 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (King Arthur)
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup butter, frozen and grated
- 1 cup whole milk + extra for brushing
- ½ cup pumpkin purée (organic, if possible)
- 1 egg
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Browned Butter Whiskey Glaze
- 2 tablespoons melted butter (or browned butter)
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon whiskey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in the grated butter.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin purée, egg, vanilla, and maple syrup. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until a dough forms.
- On the prepared baking sheet, shape the dough into a 6-inch disc and brush the top and sides with milk. Cut into 8 wedges and separate the scones, leaving at least 2 inches of space between. The scones will grow by about 25% in the oven.
- Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- To prepare the glaze, whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Once cooled, drizzle each scone with glaze. Store the scones at room temperature for up to 2 days or covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Browned Butter Whiskey Glaze
While these pumpkin scones are wonderful on their own, fresh out of the oven, I also love to get a little indulgent with a creamy and decorative whiskey glaze. While you can make this quick and easy glaze with regular melted butter in the microwave, I strongly recommend browning your butter first. It gives the glaze a deep caramelized flavor that’s hard to replicate.
To brown butter, place a little more than two tablespoons of unsalted butter in a small saucepan or skillet. Melt it slowly over low heat and continue heating until the butter browns slightly. When you have a toasty color (watch it carefully, as butter can burn easily), remove it from the saucepan.
When browning, use more butter than the recipe calls for because you’ll lose some volume as the butter melts and steam evaporates, plus you won’t be able to get all of the browned butter out of the skillet and into your glaze.
Whiskey gives this glaze a nice bite to cut through the sweetness. But if you’re not a whiskey fan, you can omit it or replace it with another teaspoon of vanilla extract for an alcohol-free scone glaze.
If you love these pillowy pumpkin scones, then you don’t want to miss what I have coming next! Follow along on Instagram to catch all of my recipes. See you there!
