Description
Delicious Pumpkin Spice Cranberry Walnut Scones topped with a creamy vanilla cream cheese frosting. These tender, buttery scones combine warm autumn flavors of pumpkin spice, dried cranberries, and crunchy walnuts, perfect for a cozy breakfast or snack.
Ingredients
Scale
Scones:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- 4 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup turbinado sugar
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare baking sheet: Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside while you prepare the dough.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and pumpkin spice. Stir well to mix evenly.
- Cut in the butter: Add the cold, cubed unsalted butter to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to crumble the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add wet ingredients and mix: Stir in the pumpkin puree, milk, chopped dried cranberries, and walnuts. Fold the dough gently until all ingredients are evenly incorporated, being careful not to overmix.
- Shape the dough: Divide the dough into two halves. On a floured surface, shape each half into a circle about ½-inch thick. Keep a bowl of cold water nearby to wet your fingers, as the dough will be sticky. Cut each circle into 6 even wedges.
- Prepare for baking: Arrange the scones on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops evenly with turbinado sugar for added crunch and sweetness.
- Bake the scones: Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the edges turn a golden brown and the scones are cooked through. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the cream cheese frosting: In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together until smooth and creamy. Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk gradually to achieve your desired frosting consistency.
- Frost and serve: Drizzle or spoon the cream cheese frosting over the cooled scones. Serve immediately and enjoy the rich autumn flavors.
Notes
- For best results, use cold butter and keep it chilled until ready to mix to ensure flaky scones.
- If you don’t have pumpkin spice, make your own with a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
- You can substitute walnuts with pecans or almonds if preferred.
- Store the scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or freeze for longer storage.
- To make the frosting thinner, add milk slowly and stop when you reach the desired consistency for drizzling.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 scone
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 220 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
