Pumpkin and cranberry are the pairing fall breakfasts were made for: the pumpkin keeps the crumb soft and moist for days, while the cranberries cut through the spice with a sharp, tart bite. These scones lean into that contrast. They are not cake-sweet and not dry the way bakery scones sometimes are — just tender, warmly spiced wedges with cranberries in every bite, baked until the edges turn golden and the tops crackle under a sprinkle of coarse sugar.
The photograph shows exactly what you are aiming for: a single thick wedge on a white plate, deep golden-brown on top, with a crumbly, open crumb and dark cranberry pieces showing through the crust. That is this scone — a round of dough cut into eight wedges, brushed with cream and baked at 400°F (200°C) until the outside is crisp and the inside stays soft. No mixer, no chilling overnight, and the whole batch is in the oven in about fifteen minutes.
They belong to our Breakfast collection, where they sit happily next to our pumpkin waffles for a weekend morning and our pumpkin baked oatmeal for the weekdays. Serve them warm with butter, or with a smear of cream cheese if you like the tang against the spice.
Keep everything cold
Cold butter is the whole secret of a scone that rises instead of spreading. Cube the butter straight from the fridge, and work it into the flour with your fingertips only until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized pieces left — those pieces melt in the oven and make the flaky layers. If your kitchen is warm, chill the mixed dry ingredients and the cubed butter for ten minutes before you start, and use cold cream and a cold egg. Warm dough makes flat, tough scones, and no amount of careful baking fixes it afterwards.
Pumpkin puree, not pie filling
Use plain canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which already contains sugar and spice and will throw the whole recipe off. If you only have fresh pumpkin, roast it until soft, drain it well, and puree it smooth — wet puree is the other common cause of sticky dough. Measure the puree after draining, and if the dough still feels tacky once it comes together, add flour a tablespoon at a time rather than kneading it in, which would toughen the crumb.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 g), plus more for dusting
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (12 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (2 g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (3 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (1 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (1 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (3 g)
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (115 g), cubed
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (120 g)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream (80 ml), plus more for brushing
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (65 g)
- 1 large egg (50 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries (110 g)
- 1 tablespoon coarse sugar (12 g), for topping
Amounts are for the yield below. US customary measures first, grams in brackets for scale users.
Step-by-step instructions
- Heat the oven and line the pan. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. A hot oven is part of the rise: the baking powder and soda need that first blast of heat to lift the wedges before the butter melts away.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt together in a large bowl until evenly combined, about 30 seconds. Whisking now saves you from pockets of baking soda later, which taste bitter and leave yellow spots in the crumb.
- Cut in the cold butter. Add the cubed cold butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips, lifting and crumbling, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible. Work quickly so the butter stays cold; if it starts to feel greasy, put the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Whisk the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, cream, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. The mixture will look slightly thick and orange — that is right. Do not add the cranberries here; they go in with the dough so they do not all sink to the bottom of the bowl.
- Bring the dough together. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms, then fold in the dried cranberries. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it gently — never knead it — into a round about 7 inches (18 cm) across and 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. A light hand here is what keeps the scones tender.
- Cut, brush and bake. Cut the round into 8 wedges with a floured knife, pressing straight down rather than sawing, and set the wedges about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops lightly with cream and sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until deeply golden on top and a toothpick in the centre comes out clean. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then move to a rack.
Nutrition estimate
| Nutrient | Per serving |
|---|---|
| Calories | 320 kcal |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 48 g |
| Fat | 14 g |
| Saturated fat | 8 g |
| Sodium | 330 mg |
| Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 19 g |
Nutrition figures are estimates calculated from standard ingredient data for the yield stated. Your actual values will vary with brands, substitutions and portion sizes — treat them as a guide, not a guarantee.
Storage & reheating
Store the cooled scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze them for up to 2 months in a sealed bag and reheat from frozen at 325°F (163°C) for about 12 minutes. A day-old scone comes back beautifully split and toasted under the broiler for a minute. Nutrition figures are estimates per scone and vary with brands and substitutions; estimates vary.
Easy Pumpkin Cranberry Scones
Tender, spiced, baked golden
Ingredients
Tick ingredients off as you prep, and tap a step below to mark it done as you cook. Scaling adjusts the listed amounts - seasoning to taste stays your call.
Instructions
- Heat the oven and line the pan. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. A hot oven is part of the rise: the baking powder and soda need that first blast of heat to lift the wedges before the butter melts away.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt together in a large bowl until evenly combined, about 30 seconds. Whisking now saves you from pockets of baking soda later, which taste bitter and leave yellow spots in the crumb.
- Cut in the cold butter. Add the cubed cold butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips, lifting and crumbling, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible. Work quickly so the butter stays cold; if it starts to feel greasy, put the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Whisk the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, cream, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. The mixture will look slightly thick and orange — that is right. Do not add the cranberries here; they go in with the dough so they do not all sink to the bottom of the bowl.
- Bring the dough together. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms, then fold in the dried cranberries. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it gently — never knead it — into a round about 7 inches (18 cm) across and 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. A light hand here is what keeps the scones tender.
- Cut, brush and bake. Cut the round into 8 wedges with a floured knife, pressing straight down rather than sawing, and set the wedges about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops lightly with cream and sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until deeply golden on top and a toothpick in the centre comes out clean. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then move to a rack.
Recipe by Ahsan ul Haq · FryDaily. Printing? This card is designed to print cleanly on its own.
