The best Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Scones use a medley of warm autumn spices, chocolate chunks, creamy pumpkin puree, and vegan butter for delicious flaky layers. Perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert!
We LOVE scones – they’re simple, flaky, and delicious! These autumn inspired pumpkin spice treats are perfect for pumpkin season. Flaky layers with a crispy outer shell and a pillow-y inside. Paired with a warm drink these Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Scones are our new favourite seasonal treat.
Coming together in just 30 minutes, these vegan scones are the perfect weeknight treat. Plus they come together in just one bowl, so it may just be the easiest recipe you’ll ever make.
Let’s talk about pumpkin puree!
You know that seasonal canned good that you bust out about 1 month out of the year? Yea, that one. Pumpkin puree is pretty much always in your pantry, no matter what time of year it is, but we only seem to bust it out when the leaves start falling and a little chill touches the air. But what do we even know about pumpkin puree? Did you know that pumpkin puree isn’t even the pumpkin we think it is? Yep! Because a pumpkin isn’t just a single type of pumpkin, there are many varieties of pumpkin, most brands are actually a mix of different types of squashes and pumpkins.
It’s also important to note, not all pumpkin purees are created equal. Our go-to brand is E.D. Smith because we always have the best results with it. Don’t have a go-to brand? Have a little pumpkin party and make your favourite pumpkin recipes with a few different varieties of purees to find which one you like the best!
Top tips for making Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Scones:
- Keep it cool. To get fluffy, flaky scones the vegan butter in the recipe should be kept as cold as possible. If you find that the butter is getting too warm, pop the bowl or container into the fridge for a few minutes.
- Keep your butter chunky. The butter should still be visible through the dough. We like to grate it with a cheese grater or food processor with a grater attachment. However you can also use a pastry blender instead.
- Use a dark chocolate bar. We opt to use chocolate chunks instead of chocolate chips. They provide chocolate throughout the scones in varying sizes, so every bite is full of chocolate!
- Form into a disk and cut into triangles. To avoid overworking the dough, we like to form the dough in a disk and cut into wedges instead of cutting out rounds and having to re-form the dough. This will help you to not overwork your dough or melt the butter too much.
- Preheat oven fully before baking. To get proper spring of the scones they shouldn’t be placed in an oven before it’s fully preheated.
Notes on Ingredients & Tools:
We love making scones because they’re so easy to make! With just a handful of ingredients you have perfectly cozy pumpkin-inspired scones.
- Pumpkin Puree – All brands will have different texture and results, so we always try and stay consistent in the brands we use. We typically use the E.D. Smith brand and it can be found in most Canadian grocery stores.
- Soy Milk – We test all our recipes with soy milk and recommend for best results doing the same. However we have tested previously scone recipes with other non-dairy milks and they worked well. We had good results with soy, almond, rice, macadamia, and oat milk.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – This is used for flavour and to create a vegan buttermilk, you can also use lemon juice.
- Fancy Molasses – Key for the delicious deep flavour in these scones!
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – We make our own blend by measuring our spices individually. However you can also replace the individual spices in our recipe with your own or a store-bought pumpkin pie spice blend.
- Chocolate Chunks – We use a dark chocolate bar and chop it to desired sizes, but if you prefer you can use chocolate chips!
- Baking Staples – The key is to weigh out the ingredients instead of using cups. Doing so will help ensure you have the best results even when using different brands.
The best part about scones? They only require 5 basic kitchen tools to make!
- Bowls – All you need is one large and one small bowl!
- Pastry Blender – This simple tool is a must for bakers. Perfect for making flaky pastries and scones, as it ensures the butter gets cut into the dry ingredients without melting.
- Knife – You can also use a bench scraper to cut your dough into scones.
- Baking Sheet & Silicone Baking Mat – We use aluminum baking sheets with a reusable silicone baking sheet (like Silpat) to keep the scones from sticking.
Other vegan fall dessert recipes you’ll love:
- Butternut Squash Bundt Cake
- Apple Fritter Loaf with Maple Glaze
- Easy Apple Fritters with Maple Glaze
- Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate
How to make Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Scones:
Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Scones
Ingredients
- 180 mL (¾ cup) soy milk
- 15 mL (1 tbsp) apple cider vinegar
- 7 g (1 tbsp) ground flax seeds
- 100 g (½ cup) pumpkin puree
- 15 mL (1 tbsp) molasses
- 30 mL (1 tbsp) maple syrup
- 5 mL (1 tsp) vanilla extract
- 360 g (3 cups) all-purpose flour
- 12 g (1 tbsp) baking powder
- 3 g (½ tsp) baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 170 g (¾ cup) cold vegan butter
- 100 g chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- To a bowl combine non-dairy milk, apple cider vinegar, ground flax seed, pumpkin puree, molasses, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and maple extract. Mix and set in the fridge until needed.
- In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and cardamom. Mix until combined.
- Using a pastry blender (or two knives) cut the butter into the flour until about pea sized.
- To the flour/butter mixture add the milk mixture. Fold until all the flour is incorporated into a dough. You may need to use your hands to gently fold, but don't handle it too much or your body heat will melt the butter.
- Once the flour is almost all incorporated, add in the chocolate chunks and fold until evenly divided throughout the dough.
- On a floured surface turn out the dough and gently press it into a disk about 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife cut the disk into pie slices - we opted for 8 total. Place scones on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow scones to cool about 10 minutes before serving.