These tender, orange-infused Pumpkin Spice Scones smell like heaven, and they taste even better! Plus, while they're baking, your house will smell utterly spectacular!
Mr B and I are not usually Pumpkin Spice People. We don’t rush out when the first leaf of Autumn hits the ground in search of Pumpkin Spice Pringles and the like. (Yes. They are a real thing.) Personally, I can take it or leave it, beverage or otherwise. But give me something baked and flakey and all dolled up in a delicious glaze of warm, cozy spices, and I am all in.
These Pumpkin Spice Scones tick all the boxes!
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What Exactly is a Scone, Anyway?
Scones are a moist, delicious marriage between biscuit and muffin. Scones can be sweet or savory, and they are most often eaten for breakfast or brunch.
Americans inherited scones from the English. English scones lean toward the biscuit side; cut round, with a denser texture, and maybe a little less sweet. American scones, on the other hand, tend more toward a muffiny texture; a little lighter and a bit sweeter. They are often baked in wedges, as are those in this recipe.
(We won't even talk about Utah scones. Are they delicious? Yes!!! But "scones" might be pushing the definition.)
Tips for Making Perfect Sourdough Scones
- Use Sourdough Discard or Unfed Starter for this recipe. When using Discard for this recipe, it should must be from a healthy, vigorous Starter that is regularly fed. If using Unfed Starter, it should be healthy, vigorous starter that has not been fed for 12 hours or more. (DO NOT use neglected Starter that hasn’t been fed in weeks.)
- Use very cold (or frozen) butter. Cold butter is what yields those lovely, delicious layers in the dough.
- Grate or shred your butter instead of cutting it. This will allow you to work your butter into the dough easily and avoid overworking it when you add the wet ingredients.
- Do not play with the dough! Mix your scone dough just until it all comes together. It is just fine if the dough is lumpy.
- Refrigerate the dough for 15-20 minutes after you form the scones and before you bake them. This will keep them from spreading out all over the pan while they are baking.
This simple sourdough scone recipe is a perfect way to use up your sourdough discard. Sourdough adds a subtle, tangy flavor to your scones, and gives them amazing lift in the process.
Recipe Updated September 24, 2021 (Originally published October 15, 2013)
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Scones
Stir together flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Using a grater, shred the butter. Mix the shredded butter into the dry mixture using a fork, pastry blender, or your fingers. (OR, Cut the butter into ¼ cubes and blend together.) The mixture should look like very coarse crumbs.
In a separate bowl, mix sourdough starter, pumpkin, molasses, orange zest, and vanilla.
Stir wet mixture into dry mixture in the bowl. Once it is somewhat mixed in, turn the contents of the bowl out onto a clean board.
The mix may seem a little dry at first. Knead it a few times before you decide to add milk.
Gently knead the dough on the board, adding milk if necessary, just until it holds together in a soft ball. The dough should soft like a biscuit dough. Once you've kneaded it enough for it to pull together, form a ball and leave it alone. The less you work with it, the more tender your scones will turn out.
Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.
Form a 9-inch wheel with the dough dough.
Transfer the wheel of dough to the prepared baking sheet. With a long knife, cut the dough wheel into eight pieces, like a pizza. Separate pieces so that they are ½-inch away from one another.
Brush the top of the wheel with milk.
Put the scones on the baking sheet in the freezer. Set your oven to 400°F [204°C].
When the oven is fully up to temperature, take the scones out of the freezer. Put the scones into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 15 minutes.
In a small mixing bowl, combine Pumpkin Spice Glaze ingredients. Mix until smooth.
Drizzle the glaze over the scones.
Planning a special brunch (or a cozy Sunday morning)? Try a cup of our delicious, citrusy Russian Tea with a Pumpkin Spice Scone - it's a match made in warm spice-heaven!
Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Scones
Equipment
- Wooden Spoon
- Grater
Ingredients
Sourdough Scones
- 2 ½ cup flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold butter
- 1 cup Sourdough Starter [100% Hydration] Use Unfed Starter or Discard [See Notes]
- ½ cup canned pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon. molasses
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest optional
- 2 tablespoons milk only as needed
Pumpkin Spiced Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon canned pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- Stir together flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
- Using a grater, shred the butter. Mix the shredded butter into the dry mixture using a fork, pastry blender, or your fingers. (OR, Cut the butter into ¼ cubes and blend together.)The mixture should look like very coarse crumbs.
- In a separate bowl, mix sourdough starter, pumpkin, molasses, orange zest, and vanilla.
- Stir wet mixture into dry mixture in the bowl. Once it is somewhat mixed in, turn the contents of the bowl out onto a clean board. The mix may seem a little dry at first. Knead it a few times before you decide to add milk.
- Gently knead the dough on the board, adding milk if necessary, just until it holds together in a soft ball. The dough should soft like a biscuit dough. Once you've kneaded it enough for it to pull together, Just form a ball and leave it alone. The less you work with it, the tenderer your scones will turn out. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.
- Form a 9-inch wheel with the dough dough.
- Transfer the wheel of dough to the prepared baking sheet. With a long knife, cut the dough wheel into eight pieces, like a pizza. Separate pieces so that they are ½-inch away from one another.
- Brush the top of the wheel with milk.
- Put the scones on the baking sheet in the freezer.Set your oven to 400°F [204°C].
- When the oven is fully up to temperature, take the scones out of the freezer. Put the scones into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 15 minutes.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine Pumpkin Spice Glaze ingredients. Mix until smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze over the scones.
Notes
- Discard should must be from a healthy, vigorous Starter that is regularly fed.
- Unfed Starter should be healthy, vigorous sourdough starter that has not been fed for 12 hours or more. (DO NOT use neglected Starter that hasn’t been fed in weeks.)
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
Cycle of a Healthy Sourdough Starter
Use Sourdough Discard or Unfed Starter for this recipe.
- Fed Starter – Fed Starter is active, healthy starter that has been fed within about 2 hours. By hour 2, it will be producing little bubbles on the surface.
- Active Starter – Starter is Active about 5 hours after feeding. By hour 5, you should be able to watch large bubbles actively rising through the Starter and making their way to surface.
- Ripe Starter – Starter is considered Ripe about 8 hours after feeding. The volume has doubled, and the top is just beginning to show signs of sagging under its own weight.
- Unfed Starter – Unfed Starter is healthy, vigorous Starter that has not been fed for 12 hours or more. By hour 12, it collapsed after Ripening, and is ready to be fed again or put in the fridge until next time. (Note that this is NOT neglected Starter that hasn’t been fed in days.)
- Discard – Sourdough discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that you get rid of when you do a feeding. It should be healthy and vigorous, with some small bubbling activity.
National Pumpkin Spice Day happens every year on October 1st, unofficially ushering in what has become known as Pumpkin Spice Season, or the period of time that stretches from the moment the first leaf falls each autumn until crack of dawn on Black Friday.
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Amber says
Yum, I love anything pumpkin!
Bill Volckening says
those look divine!
Kayla says
Can I use my sourdough starter that I have fermenting in my fridge? It is a liquid not a dry powder.
Renée ♥ says
Yes. I'm a little confused about where you saw that it called for a dry powder. As is indicated in the directions, this recipe specifically calls for "wet starter." (1 cup 100% hydration sourdough starter = wet sourdough starter) The only time that you use dry sourdough flakes - to my knowledge - is to start a new starter.
Johanne says
I've tried those this morning for breakfast and they are delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Renée ♥ says
Thanks for the feedback. So glad that you enjoyed them!
Candice says
I'm a little confused about the 100% hydration sourdough starter. I've done some research on it, and I guess I'm mathematically impaired because I still can't get it through my head what makes the hydration percentages. I know flour/water measurements, but when you are using a starter you've made without working with hydration, how do I get to that 100%??? I'm thinking to just use what I have, and see what happens! I'm doing a lot of experimenting with sourdough these days, delighted to find this yummy recipe!!
Renée ♥ says
From what I understand, 100% just means that you use equal parts water and flour to create and feed it. (If any more seasoned Sourdoughs out there want to chime in on this one, please do.)
Paula says
Yes, 100% hydration starter is equal parts, by weight, of flour and water.
Sarah Freeman says
Hello! I've been searching high and low for a sour dough scone recipe! Do you have a plain or maybe mixed berry version of this recipe?! I'd hate to omit the pumpkin and off set the ingredients! I had a mixed berry sour dough scone in Alaska (I live in Florida) and I can't seem to find a good way to recreate it! Thank you (:
Renée ♥ says
I don't have a mixed berry scone recipe, but it sounds delicious. I'll see what I can come up with and let you know!
Allison says
Made these last night. Awesome!! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Renée ♥ says
Thank you so much for the feedback. I'm so glad you like them!
Karla says
These look amazing. I attempted them as gluten and sugar free!:) We will see how they turn out... so far they're amazing.
Lydia says
Can the 1 cup of sourdough starter be discard or does it need to be fed and active?
Renée ♥ says
It needs to be fed, active starter. Thanks for the question, Lydia. I've updated the post so that it is clearer in the recipe. ?
Abby says
Thank you for this recipe, Renee! I made these for my family for Thanksgiving and they were a hit. I plan to make these again next fall! My favorite part? They came out of the oven looking a lot like a stemless pumpkin - could be fun to play with presentation!
Of note to other bakers: I fed my starter (I always use bread flour) just for this and misjudged the amount to make so I only had 3/4 cup - I simply removed about that much flour/soda/tartar mixture after it was mixed together and it worked quite well (I kept the amount of pumpkin as is). I don’t keep molasses in the house, so I used maple syrup. Using what I had on hand, I used almond milk in the dough and glaze and brushed buttermilk on top of the scones. I used turbinado sugar with the pumpkin pie spices for a nice crisp top.
Renée ♥ says
Thank you so much for the feedback, Abby, and for taking the time to note your changes for other bakers. This is great!
Michelle Jolene says
Oh yummy! I'm a sucker for anything with pumpkin spice in it!
Marta says
I'm genuinely so in love with this recipe. They way you've combined the tangy sourdough and creamy pumpkin is amazing.
Renée ♥ says
It is such a warm, tasty combination!
Mimi says
I love anything with pumpkin, I'll have to make these
Bella says
oh yumm these looks amazing. Im allergic to gluten and dairy and eggs. I would have to try making these but a version i can eat.
Renée ♥ says
If you are allergic to wheat (i.e., Celiac, etc.) I can't help. However, if you are gluten-intolerant, there is a lot research about how sourdough may be an answer for some gluten-intolerant folks. If you are interested, check out the headline Who is Kaylen, and Why is this Her Bread? on my Easy Sourdough Bread post. If you're gluten-intolerant and miss real bread, it's worth a read.
Haley D Williams says
I love scones for breakfast or brunch! I love the pumpkin flavors! Cannot wait to bake these up!
Renée ♥ says
If you love scones and pumpkin, these are going to make you very happy!
Pam Greer says
I love that these use leftover sourdough starter!!! What a great way to use it up and these are so delicious!
Renée ♥ says
I try to never throw away my discard if I can help it, and these scones are definitely a delicious way to use it up!
Anita says
The scones are delicious, and this is a great way to use discard sourdough starter.
Irina says
Scones with the texture of biscuit and muffin. Sounds interesting... Will make them for sure.
Jordan | Read. Eat. Repeat. says
This sounds incredible! I love the idea of combining the sweet pumpkin spice flavors with the tang of the sourdough. Yum!
Scarlet says
These sounds fancy! I love pumpkin spice flavored things so I can't wait to try this scone recipe!
Olga says
I am new and I am a little confused. Do you feed your starter and then discard and use discard for recipe. I thought I was supposed to discard first and then feed starter
Renée says
You were correct that they Discard is divided out before the starter is fed. Say I have 8 ounces of starter that needs to be fed, and I don't want to keep any more starter than that at any one time. First I divide the starter into two containers: one for the 1/2 cup of starter that will be fed, and 1/2 cup of starter to be discarded. That second container is your Discard. You can bake with it (as in this recipe), make pancakes with it, or pour it down the sink - your choice.
I hope that clears things up! Good luck on your Sourdough journey.
Kim says
Oh. My. Goodness.! These are amazing and there were none left after breakfast with our family! Amazing flavor, texture, and really so easy to make! I will be making these delectable edibles often!!!!
Renée says
Thanks so much for the positive feedback! So glad you are enjoying them!
Renée says
I so glad you enjoyed them - thanks for letting us know!!!
Michelle Farrar Quinn says
Wow! Absolutely delicious. These were my first foray into sourdough AND I had to use a toaster oven, but they are wonderful. Thanks
Renée says
So glad you like them!
Toaster ovens are a lifesaver! When I was just out of college, the stove in my apartment broke so often that I just gave up. We used a toaster oven to bake Everything (including large take-n-bake pizzas - quartered) for over a year!
Tracy says
These were a hit and so yummy. I’m making my second batch right now! Any suggestions on whether you can freeze the dough or not? Thanks!
Renée says
Great question, Tracy! You can freeze unbaked scones... in theory. (Which is to say, I've never done this in real life with this specific recipe; but this method works with other, similar recipes, so I imagine it will work here.)
Cut the scones into wedges as noted [Step 7] and arrange them on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Freeze them on the sheet until they are solid. You can seal them in freezer-safe resealable bags. They should keep for up to four months.
Bake the scones directly from frozen, but add an extra 3-5 minutes baking time.
If you use this method (or any other), please come back and let me know how it turned out!