These Pumpkin Scones are made with canned pumpkin puree, brown sugar, warm cinnamon, plump raisins, and toasted walnuts folded into a flaky, buttery dough.

I bake these on weekends when the leaves start turning, usually a double batch since they disappear fast with coffee.

They’re perfect for fall breakfast, weekend brunch, Thanksgiving morning, or an afternoon snack with coffee or tea.

They’re also good for a slow breakfast, a fall bake sale table, or freezing ahead for busy mornings.

If you’re into fall baking and brunch spreads, these are worth bookmarking too:

Pumpkin Scones with Cinnamon Raisin Walnuts

Ingredients You’ll Need

Cold butter is the key to a flaky scone, so keep it in the fridge until the last second. The pumpkin puree adds moisture without making the dough wet, and the raisins plump up nicely once they hit the oven.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tbsp coarse sugar, for topping

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl.
Make sure the brown sugar is broken up with no clumps left – it won’t dissolve evenly once the butter goes in.
Add the cold, cubed butter to the flour mixture.
Work it in with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible.
Those little butter pieces are what create the flaky layers as they melt in the oven (don’t overwork it into a smooth paste).
In a separate bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Pour this into the flour mixture and stir gently with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms.
Fold in the raisins and walnuts last, using your hands to bring the dough together.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a circle about 8 inches wide and 1 inch thick.
This one takes a bit of patience on the first try, since the dough is sticky from the pumpkin.
Flour your hands as needed, but resist adding much extra flour to the dough itself – too much and the scones turn dense.
Cut the circle into 8 wedges using a sharp knife, wiping the blade clean between cuts for neater edges.
Transfer the wedges to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Brush the tops with a little extra heavy cream and sprinkle generously with coarse sugar.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
The bottoms should be lightly browned too – lift one with a spatula to check if you’re not sure.
Let the scones cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature and enjoy!

Important Recipe Notes

Keep everything cold. Chill the butter, and even the bowl if your kitchen runs warm, before you start. Warm butter melts into the dough too early and you lose the flaky texture.
Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling already has sugar and spices mixed in, which throws off the recipe’s balance.

Don’t overwork the dough. Mix just until it comes together. Overworking develops gluten and turns the scones tough instead of tender.
Freeze the wedges before baking if you want fresh scones on demand. Freeze them raw on a tray, then transfer to a bag – bake straight from frozen, adding 3 to 4 extra minutes.
Store baked scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze baked and cooled scones for up to 2 months.
Reheat in the oven, not the microwave. A few minutes at 300°F brings back the crisp edges. The microwave makes them chewy instead of flaky.
No walnuts on hand? Pecans work just as well here, or leave the nuts out entirely if you’re serving picky eaters.

How to Serve, Store & Customize This Recipe

Serving:

These are best warm, split in half with a little butter melting into the crumb. Set them out with coffee or apple cider for a fall breakfast spread, or add a small dish of honey on the side for drizzling.

Storage:

Keep baked scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, freeze them in a freezer bag for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature or warm gently in the oven.

Customization:

Swap the raisins for dried cranberries if you want more tartness, or add 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips along with the walnuts for a sweeter version.

A simple glaze of powdered sugar and milk drizzled over the cooled scones works well too, if you want something a little sweeter on top.