Wholemeal Scones with Pumpkin, Cranberries and Pistachios

Have extra pumpkin purée? Enjoy a fall-inspired breakfast with these wholemeal scones with pumpkin, cranberries and pistachios.

The pumpkin train is still going on strong in my house! Between the many pumpkin dishes and fun Halloween goodies we are baking, my kids are really enjoying mommy’s fun creations out of the kitchen!

I personally adore scones. Maybe it is because I love all things rustic. And after many scones turning into leaded weights, I was thrilled with how these whole wheat pumpkin scones turned out.

Homemade pumpkin purée versus canned

Did you know that many popular brands of canned pumpkin purée do not contain pumpkin, but other varieties of squash? In all honesty, squash and pumpkins are basically the same. But we all know that they differ in flavor.

I love a good butternut squash, but I want my pumpkin creations to have real pumpkin flavor. I like to use homemade pumpkin purée but do use canned if I’m pressed for time.

You can make homemade pumpkin purée with most any pumpkin variety. The typical jack-o-lantern pumpkins aren’t super sweet, so I don’t recommend using those.

The smaller sugar pie pumpkins are the most popular pumpkins for roasting and make pumpkin purée. But I also like to use any variety of the Cinderella pumpkins.

For this recipe of whole scones with pumpkin, I used my homemade pumpkin purée and it was delicious despite my laziness and not mashing it up into a completely smooth consistency!

I divided the unused pumpkin purée and split them into freezable resealable bags containing 1 or 2 cups of pumpkin. Fresh pumpkin puree will last about 1 week in the fridge and up to 6-8 months in the freezer.

Ingredients you need

• Whole wheat flour: Here in the US, we call it whole wheat flour. It is the same thing as wholemeal flour used in Europe. It is the same thing. I prefer to use Bobs Red Mill stone ground whole wheat flour.
• Other pantry staples: granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Spices: ground nutmeg and cinnamon
• Butter
• Dried fruit and nuts: cranberries and pistachios
• Yogurt: Some people use buttermilk in their scones, but I love using yogurt!
• Pumpkin purée: You can use homemade or canned pumpkin.
• Agave nectar: You can also use honey instead.
• Turbinado sugar
• Grated orange zest (optional)

Step-by-step directions

1. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together dry ingredients. Using your fingers mix in butter and squeeze butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, pumpkin purée and agave nectar. Pour yogurt mixture into flour mixture and mix with your hands until a rough dough is formed.

3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a circle or rectangle, about 1-inch thick. Do not over mix the dough. Cut into small squares or wedges. Sprinkle turbinado sugar and orange zest (optional) over the wedges.

4. Place scones onto prepared baking sheet. Bake in the hot oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Recipe tips and FAQs

Even with my lumpy homemade pumpkin purée! I enjoyed bits of dried cranberries and pistachios, along with small bites of pumpkin. I loved how it all turned out.

Feel free make these scones to your own liking. Skip the cranberries and nuts or swap out for raisins and walnuts. Instead of baking with a topping of turbinado sugar, you could also whip up a little icing sugar and drizzle it over the scones after it has baked and cooled.

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.

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