Pumpkin Pecan Scones with Maple Glaze
Incredible pumpkin scones made with whole wheat flour and coconut oil, topped with maple glaze and pecans. These healthy pumpkin scones are vegan, too!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 9, 2024
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On the evening of Halloween, I found myself stretching at a familiar pace during my regularly scheduled yoga class. Arms up, forward fold, flat back, jump to plank. Somewhere between upward dog and downward dog, my mind started wandering. What happened to my favorite holiday? Why hadn’t I dressed up this year? Inhale, exhale. Where are the Halloween parties? If I’m not hearing about the parties, does that mean I’m doing something wrong with my life? Or am I just too old for them?
There I was, hanging upside down on my hands and feet, flashing back to college. At this time five years ago, I thought, I’d be asking my roommate Grace for help with my Princess Leia buns. Later that night, I’d be dancing around to Thriller with my friends—each a different character with a sloshing red Solo cup in hand.
I went home feeling all stretched out and sentimental. I poured myself a glass of wine and nibbled on a dark chocolate mini peanut butter cup. That wasn’t cutting it. I missed my roommates and our three-day Halloween extravaganzas. I briefly considered taking a shot of whiskey for old time’s sake (bad idea). Then I recalled that Grace wanted a pumpkin scone recipe. She mentioned it when I went to visit her in Minneapolis this summer. Grace loves to spend quiet mornings with a cup of black coffee and a scone.
I set down my glass of wine, got up and made pumpkin scones at midnight. Two batches later, I ended up with a simple whole wheat, vegan pumpkin pecan scone topped with a sweet maple glaze. I opted for coconut oil instead of butter in this scones, which is even easier to work with than butter and works just as well. I think you’ll like these, G.
I know some people try to avoid powdered sugar, whether it’s because the store-bought kind is usually cut with corn starch or simply because it’s refined sugar. I thought you might like to know that you can make your own powdered sugar in a blender or food processor. I used fine organic cane sugar (see above photo, left side) but read that you can also make it with turbinado sugar or sucanat. Just pulse the sugar until it’s nice and fluffy (see above photo, right side)!
More Pumpkin Treats to Enjoy
- Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes
- Healthy Pumpkin Bread or Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
- Perfect Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes
View more pumpkin recipes here.
Pumpkin Pecan Scones with Maple Glaze
Vegan (or not), whole wheat pumpkin pecan scones topped with a delightful maple glaze. This healthy pumpkin scone recipe will be a hit with your family and friends!
Ingredients
Pumpkin scones
- 1 cup raw pecan halves
- 2 cups (250 grams) white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅓ cup solid coconut oil* or 5 tablespoons cold butter
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup milk of choice (almond milk, cow’s milk, etc.)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Maple glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup maple syrup, more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Toast the nuts in the oven until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Reserve the parchment paper for later, and chop the nuts into fine pieces.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, three-fourths of the chopped nuts (reserve the remaining nuts for topping), baking powder, sugar, spices, and salt in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Use a pastry cutter to cut the coconut oil or butter into the dry ingredients. If you don’t have a pastry cutter, use a fork to cut the coconut oil into the flour, or use a knife to cut the butter into tiny pieces and mix it into the flour.
- Stir in the pumpkin puree, milk, and vanilla extract. At first, it will seem like there isn’t enough liquid to wet the dough, but keep mixing until you have thoroughly incorporated the wet and dry ingredients. If you must, use your hands to knead the last of the flour into the dough.
- Form the dough into a circle about an inch deep all around. Use a chef’s knife to cut the circle into 8 even slices.
- Separate the slices and place them on the baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- While the scones are baking, whisk together the glaze ingredients in a small bowl until smooth and creamy. Let the scones cool until they are lightly warm to the touch. Drizzle the glaze generously over the scones (I preferred mine with a solid layer across the top). While the glaze is wet, sprinkle it with the remaining chopped nuts. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe adapted from my blueberry lemon scones . Glaze and chopped nut combination was inspired by Laura’s gorgeous baked maple doughnuts.
Change it up: You can modify this recipe by omitting the nuts altogether and/or adding chopped dark chocolate. If you want a heartier, less sugary topping option, try serving the scones with pecan butter and maple syrup instead of the glaze.
*Coconut oil note: The scones turn out their flaky best when you cut solid coconut oil (or cold butter) into the ingredients (melted oil would not have the same effect). Coconut oil hardens at temperatures under 77 degrees Fahrenheit, so I hope your oil is good to go. If it’s liquid, refrigerate the amount needed just until it turns opaque and solidifies, but not until it’s rock hard.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I’ve made these a number of times and they are always delicious. I add more of the spices because we like that. These can be whipped up impromptu if a guest stops by like today. I sent her home with the rest of the entire batch. I form two disks and cut them each into eight pieces. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Barbie!
I only now stumbled upon this recipe – these are INCREDIBLE!
Happy to hear you love it, Scarlett! I appreciate your review.
Hi Kate
I use your healthy muffins all the time, we love them. Getting ready for Xmas morning and I thought I’d make some scones(first time) in advance to freeze till then. Is this ok to do? I have them made already and they look awesome but I’ve never had one myself. Can’t wait to try them.
You can freeze them once baked. I hope they turned out well!
Everyone loved them. Tks
I’m allergic to pecans. Would walnuts or other nuts work in this recipe?
Sure, you could try it! Let me know what you think.
Great recipe: on the healthier side and not too sweet! I mixed all the pecans into the batter by mistake, but it was all good in the end. These guys got huge, so I think I’ll make round scones next time. We enjoyed them without the glaze, although I’d like to try it next time. A keeper!
Great to hear, Katherine! I appreciate your review.
Oh WOW I finally made these. Followed recipe, used more 1 and 3/4cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1/4c whole wheat flour and coconut oil as that is what I had. Super moist!!! I know ww flour absorbs more moisture than all purpose flour, not sure how much ww pastry flour absorbs, maybe less and that is why it was so moist Kate? I love sweet glaze and will try using only 1/2 the maple glaze next time. As per someone’s suggestion, I made in my food processor and it was easy to use. Not sure if using the food processor made the batter more sticky, but was able to make the suggested shape. Can’t wait to make more and impress my friends!
Love to hear it, Anita! Thank you for sharing.
These are my husband’s new favorite scone. So happy to find a recipe that reduces or completely eliminates dairy for his dairy sensitivity. I didn’t have any powdered sugar so I sprinkled the top with some brown sugar. Delicious. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Rachel!
We were looking for something different for breakfast and found this recipe. We didn’t have pumpkin so we used a cooked sweet potato instead. Also substituted Myokos cultured vegan butter for the fat. The scones cooked faester (11-12 minutes) in our oven. Delicious!
Do you think I could make this recipe with gluten free all purpose flour?
You could try it! Let me know how they turn out.