Vegan Pumpkin Scones

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★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

The simplest vegan pumpkin scones that are made quickly in the food processor, only require 11 ingredients, and are topped with the best pumpkin maple glaze. They’re perfectly flaky, moist and the best thing to pair with your morning coffee.

Earlier this year, I got very into homemade scones and was baking my Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Scones on repeat. If you haven’t given those scones a try, I can’t recommend them enough! The lemon poppy seed glaze on top is the perfect touch.

And for the longest time, I thought I preferred loaf breads like Coconut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread or Vegan Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chunks because almost all of the vegan scones I have had from coffee shops and bakeries were incredibly dry and crumbly.

But once I started making vegan scones at home, my mind has changed completely.

Scones are my absolute favorite! I can’t wait to keep testing new flavors. Soon we may or may not have 20 scone recipes up because I just can’t get enough!

Preparing the Dough

One thing I do prefer about the dough for these pumpkin scones is that they come together very quickly and easily in the food processor.

You can have this dough together in less than 5 minutes and it’s practically impossible to mess up.

To have the most success, there are a few key things to note:

• Very, very cold butter is a must. I like to keep my vegan butter in the freezer and always buy Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks for vegan baking. It’s the closest thing I have found to real butter.
• Use a large cup food processor. If you use too small of a food processor, the dough won’t have enough room in the cup to pulse together and over mixing will likely happen. I own a 14 cup Cuisinart Food Processor and swear by it. I have had it for years and it has never given me any problems.
• Not all vegan yogurts are the same. For baking, I always use Kite Hill unsweetened plain yogurt. It’s fairly thick in texture and neutral in taste so it works really well for baking. If you cannot find Kite Hill yogurt, just make sure the yogurt you use is not too thin or runny. The vegan yogurt acts as the egg replacer in this recipe so you want it to be thick enough to act as a binder and hold the dough together.

Rolling Out the Dough

Once your dough has come together in the food processor, gently turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.

Work the dough into an 8 inch round as quickly and gently as possible so as not to warm and melt the butter. You should to be able to see pieces of frozen butter in the dough. This will ensure the scones are light and flaky!

I like to use a rolling pin to help me roll the dough out so that I do not warm it too much with my hands.

Finally cut the dough into 8 wedges and transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet!

Tip! Make sure to give the scones enough room on the baking sheet. If they are too close together, they will not crisp up as well on the edges.

Freezing the Scones

The final step before baking the scones is setting them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes while the oven preheats.

Why? Two reasons:

1. Keep the butter as cold as possible: Freezing the dough will allow the butter to firm back up a bit if it melted at all before baking. Remember, the colder the butter, the flakier the scone! Don’t skip this!
2. Prevent the scones from spreading: If the scone dough is too warm when you put them in the oven, you run the risk of having them spread outwards instead of rising upwards. Keeping the dough cold will help them keep their shape!

Frequently asked Questions:

• What if I don’t have a food processor? You can make these scones in a bowl with a spatula. The food processor is just quicker and easier.
• Can I make these oil-free? The short answer is no. Scones without vegan butter would be very flat and dense. If you want healthier, oil-free desserts, check out my Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookie and Flourless Brownie Bars (no bake).
• Can I make these refined sugar free? Maybe. I do not recommend replacing the cane sugar with maple syrup as it will make the dough too wet. I also don’t recommend date sugar as it does not melt. If you want to try making these refined sugar free as possible, I would try coconut sugar but I did not test this and cannot guarantee perfect results. Coconut sugar will likely make the scones much darker in color, too.
• Where do I buy pumpkin spice? I buy a pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice from my local grocery store. If you can’t find it in your grocery store, I would try ordering it on Amazon or making your own! Check out this DIY recipe by Minimalist Baker.
• What if I can’t find canned pumpkin puree? I would try using either pureed sweet potato or pureed, roasted sugar pie pumpkin. Substituting these could make the dough too wet, so if that is the case, I would add 1 tablespoon all purpose flour at a time until dough is correct consistency (refer to images earlier in post).

I hope you love these scones as much as we do! They’re perfectly spiced, so flakey and the glaze on top is the perfect final touch!

If you need more pumpkin recipes in your life, check out this Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin Chia Seed Pudding.

Enjoy!

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