Pumpkin Scones

An Aussie twist on a British classic, Pumpkin Scones hold a special place in many Aussie hearts.

This recipe is the one made famous by Australian politician, Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen.

The Recipe for Pumpkin Scones

I tested a few recipes for Pumpkin Scones and Lady Flo’s recipe won hands down in terms of both simplicity and flavour.

When she shared her famous pumpkin scone recipe with Australian Women’s Weekly readers in 1981, Lady Flo was both a senator and wife of the Queensland premier.  She served as a senator from 1981 to 1993, while her husband Joh was Queensland’s longest serving premier, from 1968 to 1987.

In the article, she attributes the recipe to her mother, saying “I’m sure my mother, if she were still alive, would be surprised to see her pumpkin scone recipe achieve such fame.”

And here we are, still loving Lady Flo’s mum’s pumpkin scones recipe more than 40 years later, and after she passed in 2017.

Why you’ll love Pumpkin Scones

If you’ve tried them before, you just know how perfect they are.

But if you haven’t, well I was in the same boat.

In fact, I’d always avoided them. I knew people loved them, but it just seemed a little weird to me.

If I was having scones, I’ll have plain Buttermilk Scones with cream and jam, thanks!

But after testing a few pumpkin scone recipes, I now totally get it.

Pumpkin Scones are so deliciously soft, not quite sweet and not quite savoury.

When served warm with butter, they’re pure bliss – and such a wonderful celebration of autumn.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Scones

The star ingredient for these legendary scones is, of course, the pumpkin.

And the best pumpkin for pumpkin scones is the Queensland Blue.

The Queensland Blue, Cucurbita maxima, is an Aussie heirloom pumpkin and one of our favourites. Its seeds were shared with the United States in 1932, and it’s now popular worldwide.

Queenslanders were also kind enough to share seeds with us here in New South Wales, and a farmer living down the road from my house grows them every year and sells them on a makeshift roadside stall.

If you can’t get your hands on a Queensland Blue, a Kent Pumpkin is also great for making scones.

If you use a less dense and dry pumpkin, you will likely have to add more flour to the mixture. More on that below.

Okay, so to make Pumpkin Scones you’ll also need:

• butter
• sugar
• egg
• SR flour (or plain/all purpose flour plus baking powder)
• salt
• a little milk (for brushing tops of scones).

Ingredient quantities can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to make Pumpkin Scones

Prepare the mash in advance

You need one cup of cold mashed pumpkin to make these scones.

So, you need to:

• peel and seed the pumpkin (you’ll need about 250-300 grams for 1 cup of mashed pumpkin)
• cut into small chunks and boil for 10-15 minutes or until very tender
• drain and mash pumpkin
• give the mash enough time to cool completely.

Prepping

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius/390 degrees fahrenheit (fan-forced).

Grease a cake tin (or any baking dish with higher sides).

Mix, stir, fold

Beat butter, sugar and salt with an electric hand mixer for a few minutes.

Add egg and beat again for one minute.

Add pumpkin and mix on lowest speed until combined.

Next, fold through the sifted flour with a blunt knife until combined.

The scone dough should hold together and be slightly sticky but manageable once you turn it out onto a floured surface.

The moistness of the mashed pumpkin can be variable, so it’s not unusual to have to adjust the ingredient quantities at this stage.

• If your mixture is too sticky and wet, add a little extra flour.

• If the mixture is too dry, add a little milk.

Shaping and cutting

Turn dough onto a floured surface and shape into a rectangle about 1 inch thick.

TIP: For super soft scones, do NOT knead – handle the dough gently.

Using a 5-6 cm scone cutter, cut out circles.

Place circles about 1/2 – 1cm apart on the greased tray.

Brush tops of each circle with milk.

Baking

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a pale golden colour on top.

Allow to cool for a minute or two in the tray before turning out into a clean tea towel placed on a cooling rack.

Wrap in the tea towel and – if possible – serve while still warm with butter.

Want more pumpkin recipes?

I also have recipes for Pumpkin Soup, Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Croquettes.

Want more scone recipes?

Check out my recipes for Lemonade Scones, Buttermilk Scones, Cream Scones, Cheese Scones and Butterscotch Pinwheel Scones.