Name: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 2 teaspoons cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; 1/4 teaspoon ginger; 1/4 teaspoon clove; 1/2 teaspoon sea salt; 8 tablespoons frozen butter; 1/4 cup heavy cream; 1 egg; 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh); 1/3 cup light brown sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips; course sugar for sprinkling on top (optional); 2 tablespoons butter; 1 tablespoon maple syrup; 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; pinch salt; pinch cinnamon

These flaky pumpkin chocolate chip scones are a delicious autumn and winter treat. Topped with a maple glaze and full of warm spices these sconce are the perfect treat to go with your afternoon cup of hot tea. The combination of pumpkin, spices and chocolate chips make these scones truly a special treat.

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Pumpkin chocolate chip scones arranged in a circle on a white plate surrounded by fall decor and warm lighting.

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As fresh ingredients start to slow down from the garden,, the menu begins to slowly change over to all those warm and comforting cold weather foods. All the cooking and baking brings new life and enjoyment to the preparation of food. One very poplar fall treat is pumpkin.

It seems most things can be turned into something special when you add a little pumpkin to it. Pumpkin waffles or pancakes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spiced latte, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin squash soup, there are just endless ideas out there.

The Excitement of Seasonal Eating

Although most of people don’t consider the seasonality of food much anymore with the modern-day grocery store, there are some flavors that have still stuck to certain season. The majority of these flavors seem to come in the autumn and Christmas season; pumpkin, cranberries, soups and turkey for autumn; peppermint, cookies and gingerbread for Christmas.

The excitement of being able to enjoy certain flavors again really brings a lot of joy to the preparation and eating of food. Being more intentional to eat locally and seasonally gives anticipation for every season not just autumn and Christmas.

Over the years, I have really tried to take a step back from the endless season in the grocery store and focus on what is really seasonal and fresh locally. Yes, I still buy bananas, avocados, rice and other non local and seasonal foods. But I have stopped buying strawberries in November and squash in March along with many other fruits and veggies.

Having a large garden makes this much easier since I am growing so much of my own food. Now, we look forward with anticipation for a juicy bite of that first watermelon and hunt expectantly for the first ripe strawberries. It does cause us to deny ourselves our desires at times. However, this is truly a beautiful way to live.

A pumpkin scone with a bite of it and melted chocolate chips in the middle.

Why You Will Love Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones

Pumpkin: is of course the star of the show here. Using pumpkin will give your scones a more moist texture than a regular scone. If you prefer the more of the dry flaky texture of a traditional scone be sure to dab the pumpkin puree with a towel to help absorb some of the moisture in the pumpkin before mixing the ingredients together.

Fall Flavors: The pumpkin is nicely complemented by the warm autumn spice flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger. These spices just seem to go perfectly with pumpkin.

Chocolate Chips: The addition of chocolate chips give a wonderful burst of slightly bitter but also sweet in each bite.

Easy to Make: These pumpkin sconce are very easy to make with just simple ingredients and supplies need to mix and bake. They also come together really quickly so you can have a warm autumn treat ready in no time.

Supplies Needed

The beauty of a recipe like this is you don’t need any fancy equipment to make it. Just common kitchen supplies will do.

Kitchen Supplies (affiliate links): Mixing Bowls , Measuring Cups and Spoons, Baking Sheet, Bench Scraper, Box Grater, Cooling Rack, Parchment Paper.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Sconces

Making scones can sound difficult but it is actually as easy as making biscuits. All you need are a few simple pantry staples.

The ingredients for pumpkin chocolate chip since arranged on a wood surface with tables over each ingredient.

Pumpkin Puree: Use fresh or canned pumpkin. Just note fresh pumpkin is more watery and it helps the texture if you can remove some of the liquid by straining the pumpkin for a while in a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth.
Cold Butter: It is important to use cold butter. Frozen butter grated with a box grater works really well.
All-Purpose Flour: Use all purpose flour to create lovely light scone. Einkorn flour works really well in recipe like this. Just add a 1/4 cup more flour as Einkorn tends to absorb water differently than regular all purpose flour.
Baking Powder: The leavening agent for scones is baking powder.
Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger bring a nice warmth to the scones.
Heavy Cream: will provide the best texture for light and flaky sconces. You can substitute with milk but just note that this will make your scones more cake like. Still delicious though.
Egg: Brings structure and flavor to your baking as well as improve the texture and help with the rise.
Brown Sugar: Adds a deeper toffee like flavor to the scones since it contains molasses.
Vanilla: Also adds a subtle flavor to the scone that just continue to enhance the taste.
Maple Syrup: Is used to add a light maple flavor to the glaze.
Chocolate Chips: The addition of chocolate chips to these sconce really take the flavor to a new level. These nothing like a bit of bitter sweetness in these light and flaky scones.

How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Sconces

Preheat the oven: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix Dry Ingredients: Mix all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use a box grater to grate the butter (use frozen butter) into the flour mixture. A pastry blender will also work but use cold butter not frozen to cut the butter into the flour mixture.

A woman's hand grating frozen butter into a bowl of flour.

A woman using a Danish whisk to combine grated butter and flour mixture.

Mix Wet Ingredients: Next, combine heavy cream, egg, pumpkin, light brown sugar and vanilla extract in a medium mixing bowl. Stir until combined.

A bowl of wet ingredients for pumpkin chocolate chip scones being combined with a Danish whisk.

A woman pouring the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture.

Combine Ingredients: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed in the dough.

Adding chocolate chips to the pumpkin scone mixture.

Stirring the chocolate chips in the pumpkin dough.

Shape Sconces: Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a circle about 1-inch thick. Cut the dough with a sharp knife or bench scraper into 8 equal wedges. Or if you prefer smaller scones, divide dough in half and shape into two smaller circles about 1-inch thick and cut each circle into 8 equal wedges.

A woman's hand forming the dough into a circle on a lightly floured surface.

The dough is divided into eight equal wedges.

Milk Wash: Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space between each one. Using a pastry brush, coat each scone with heavy cream. Then sprinkle each scone lightly with course sugar to add a bit of sparkle.

The scones are arranged on a lined baking sheet.

A woman using a paint brush to apply heavy cream to the top of the scones.

Bake Scones: Bake the scones in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes for larger sconces or 15-18 minutes for smaller scones, or until the scones are golden brown and a toothpick come out clean. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Looking down on the freshly baked scones.

To make your sconces extra special prepare this simple maple glaze to add to the top.

Make Glaze: To a sauce pan add butter, cream, maple syrup, confectioner sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir over medium heat until the sauce thickens. Drizzle sauce over sconces. Allow to cool a bit and then serve.

A pan of thickened glaze and a spatula drizzling it back into the pan.

Pumpkin chocolate chip scones with fresh glaze drizzled on top.

Recipe Tips

Use cold butter from the refrigerator or even better the freezer. This is very important. Don’t let your butter get warm.
Once you ingredients are mix together, don’t let it sit out for too long before baking. If you can’t bake right away, put the dough in the refrigerator.
Using a box grater, grate the frozen butter right into bowl with flour. You can also use a food processor to speed up the process but you will have more dishes to wash at the end.
Don’t over mix the dough when combining your wet and dry ingredients.
Wait until the scones have cooled a bit before drizzling the glaze onto them.

Pumpkin chocolate chip scones arranged in a circle on parchment paper with fresh maple glazed drizzled on top.

Storing and Serving

These pumpkin sconce are best served fresh but they can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

To give the sconce that fresh just out of the oven taste, preheat oven to 350°F and reheat scones for 5 minutes.

Q&A

What is the secret to a good scone?

One key to making good scones is to use cold ingredients; butter, heavy cream, pumpkin even chilling your flour can help create the light flaky texture.

Handle the dough as little as possible while shaping. Don’t kneed the dough.

After shaping but before baking if you have the time, let the scones rest in the refrigerator for 15 -20 minutes. This will help result in a better texture.

Baking at a high temperature around 400°F will give the scones a nice rise.

Mistakes to avoid when making scones?

Avoid over working the dough. This can affect the texture and result in tough scones. Throughly mix the wet and dry ingredients separately and then gently mix them together until just combined.

What make sconces moist?

Too much liquid will make the scones moist. Adding in pumpkin to this recipe naturally makes the scones more moist than other recipes. To help with this, you can lightly dab the pumpkin with a towel before mixing it in with the other ingredients if you’d like too.

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones are the perfect way to enjoy the autumn season and embrace seasonal living. Whether enjoyed with an afternoon cup of tea in quiet or as an after school snack with your kids or as a special breakfast treat, these are sure to become a favorite treat during the autumn season for your family.

Looking down on pumpkin chocolate chip scones and maple glaze.

More Seasonal Recipe for Fall

Butternut Squash Soup
Chicken and Vegetable Soup
Sweet Potato Puff (great low sugar alternative to traditional Sweet Potato Casserole)
Apple Pie