Sourdough Pumpkin Scones with Cream Cheese Glaze

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Sourdough pumpkin scones are made with pumpkin purée, sourdough starter discard, and plenty of warm cinnamon and fall spices, topped with a cream cheese glaze for a delicious fall treat. They go great with a hot cup of coffee for a quick breakfast or a midafternoon snack so be sure to make plenty because they’ll go quickly!

Hands down, these are the best sourdough pumpkin scones I’ve ever had with their tender, flaky layers and pumpkin spice flavor. My family loves them so much! They’re quickly becoming a favorite go-to recipe for the fall season. 

My family loves the fall season with its cooler days, pumpkin spice lattes, and football. It’s the time of year when the kids and I head back to school, and with it comes scheduled activities, structure, and regular meal times. While I miss the carefree approach to life that comes with summer, by late August I’m ready to add some structure back to our days.

Having a quick breakfast to grab is the perfect excuse to have plenty of delicious scones ready to feed my crew on busy mornings. After morning chores are done, its easy to fry an egg or two and grab a scone for the perfect breakfast before hitting the books.

I’ll be rotating these sourdough pumpkin scones with my sourdough discard orange scones, sourdough blueberry scones, and chocolate chip scones throughout the entire fall and into the winter season. 

Sourdough Pumpkin Scones with Cream Cheese Glaze Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

• Sourdough starter –  Just like my other sourdough discard recipes, this recipe is a great way to use up extra sourdough discard. The longer it’s been since the sourdough starter discard has been fed, the tangier the flavor will be in the scones. 
• Sour Cream – Being full of fat, sour cream makes for a rich and tender scone so be sure to use regular sour cream and not low-fat sour cream. 
• Pumpkin -Both homemade pumpkin purée and canned pumpkin work to make pumpkin discard scones. Just be sure you’re not using canned pumpkin pie mix because it’s a completely different product. If using homemade pumpkin, be sure to let it drain through cheesecloth for 12 hours to remove extra moisture.
• Vanilla extract – Flavors the pumpkin scones.
• Egg – Use a room-temperature egg for easy mixing.
• Butter – Cold butter is key to a scone with a flaky texture. I use unsalted butter and place it in the freezer so I can get it as cold as I can before grating. 
• Brown sugar – Adds rich, caramel notes that pair well with the pumpkin pie flavor. 

Dry Ingredient

• Flour – Using unbleached all-purpose flour is best, organic if you can source it. 
• Baking powder – Provides the lift for a fluffy, soft scone.
• Salt – Adds flavor to baked goods.
• Cinnamon – Don’t skimp on the cinnamon since it’s the major flavor in pumpkin scones.
• Allspice – Allspice comes from dried berries of the Pimenta dioica tree.
• Ground ginger – Ground ginger comes from ginger root and is used in sweet and savory dishes.
• Ground nutmeg – Nutmeg is a large seed that comes typically ground in the spice aisle. Look for the whole seed and grind fresh for the best flavor.
• Ground clove – Cloves are dried flower buds of the clove tree and have a strong, pungent flavor.

Topping

• Raw turbinado sugar – The sugar is optional, but it definitely is worth it! The sugar adds a light crunch for a nice texture.
• Heavy cream – Brush heavy cream or whole milk on top of the scones to help the sugar adhere before baking. 

Cream Cheese Glaze

• Cream cheese – Use full-fat cream cheese for the best flavor! Allow to come to room temperature for easy mixing. 
• Heavy cream – Thins out the cream cheese glaze so its easy to drizzle over the tops of the scones. You can adjust how thin the glaze is based on personal preferences.
• Vanilla extract – Flavors the cream cheese glaze.
• Confectioner’s sugar – Also known as powdered sugar, this fine sugar sweetens and thickens the glaze. Be sure to sift the sugar to remove any clumps for a smooth glaze.

Pumpkin Sourdough Scones with Cream Cheese Glaze Instructions

Prepare

Place the butter into the freezer to chill while you prep the other ingredients.

Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven. 

Mixing The Dough

Combine 150 g (1/2 cup) sourdough starter discard, 75 g (1/3 cup) sour cream, 1 large egg, 115 g (1/2 cup) canned pumpkin puree, 100 g (1/2 cup) brown sugar, and 1 tsp of vanilla extract in a large bowl until all of the ingredients are mixed together.

In a separate large mixing bowl, combine 375 g (3 cups) flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp ground cloves.

Alternatively, you can substitute 2 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice for all of the spices in this recipe.

Remove the butter from the freezer and grate the frozen butter using the large holes on a box grater. I like to place the box grater on a plate or cutting board to make it easy to add the butter the the bowl. 

Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss to coat the butter. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Pour the wet ingredients over the butter mixture and mix until the dough is just combined. It’s normal to see small pieces of butter in the dough after its mixed, so make sure to not over mix the soft dough. 

Shape

Turn out the scone dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a single, round 9″ disc, roughly 1″ tall.   Use a bench scraper or a sharp knife to cut the disc into 8 wedges for large scones. 

For smaller scones, divide the dough in half and shape each piece into a smaller, round disc. Cut each disc into 8 wedges, for a total of 16 small scones.

Brush the top of the scones with heavy cream using a pastry brush and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. 

Bake

Place unbaked scones onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes for large scones, and 16-18 minutes for small scones until the tops are golden brown. 

Place the scones onto a wire rack until completely cool.

Glaze

While the scones are cooling, mix the glaze. Add 4 tbsp cream cheese to a small bowl and sift 75 g (2/3 cup) powdered sugar through a fine mesh strainer or sifter into the bowl. Cream the sugar and cream cheese together with a spoon.

Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 2 tbsp heavy cream. This make the cream cheese glaze easy to spread or piping consistency. Add additional heavy cream, one teaspoon at a time, if you want it runnier. 

When the sourdough discard pumpkin scones are completely cool, top them with glaze.

Easy Piping: Place the cream cheese glaze into the corner of a plastic bag and twist the bag to create pressure. Then, cut off a tiny bit of one of the corners and pipe the glaze over the top of the scones. 

Storage

The scones are best the day they’re baked and will gradually lose quality the longer they sit. It’s best to store leftover scones in an airtight container and place them in the refrigerator.  

Freezing Scones

Freezing already baked pumpkin spice scones or the dough are a great make-ahead option so you can have scones anytime you want!

Scone Dough

Prepare the dough and pat it into a round disc. Next, wrap the disc securely in plastic wrap, label with the name and date, and place it in the freezer. 

When ready to bake, thaw the frozen scone dough in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, cut the disc into 8 wedges using a bench scraper or sharp knife and bake the scones according to directions.

Baked Scones

It’s best to freeze scones without the glaze, as it tends to melts during defrosting, leaving a sticky mess.

Bake scones as directed and allow to cool completely. Place the scones into a freezer bag, squeeze out as much air as possible and place it in the freezer. When ready to enjoy, thaw the scones at room temperature and top with cream cheese glaze.

I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment and rate the recipe. Tag photos #Lockremhomestead over on Instagram when you share pictures of your Sourdough Pumpkin Scones with Cream Cheese Glaze!