This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and privacy policy.
The restaurant I worked at throughout college changed my life. I think it would be amazing if everyone had the chance to work in the service industry at some point, because it definitely teaches you a thing or two about how you should treat other people, and gives you more patience than you ever had before.
Working in a restaurant also taught me to love REAL food. Up until that point, I pretty much relied on drive-thru windows and packaged foods you could pop in a toaster or microwave. I was a “picky” eater in the sense that I didn’t stray outside of my usual convenience foods. However, being a server changed all of that, because I had to taste the specials each night– and I realized that made-from-scratch salad dressings and sauces tasted way better than the bottled versions I was accustomed to.
Many of the recipes you’ll find here on the blog are inspired by dishes we served at that restaurant, including these scones. Our in-house baker would show up at 3am to whip up scones from scratch every morning, and they were the best I’d ever tasted. I’d describe them as a cross between a biscuit and a muffin– slightly moist like a muffin, but still crumbly and almost flaky, like a biscuit. These vegan and gluten-free scones aren’t quite as decadent, but they make a delicious Fall treat that won’t leave you with a morning sugar crash later.
I hope you’ll enjoy them!
—
Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Scones
Makes 8 to 9 scones
Ingredients:
Pumpkin Scones:
2 cups gluten-free oat flour*
1 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil, chilled
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Creamy Maple Glaze:
2 tablespoons raw cashew butter
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 to 3 teaspoons water
*Note: You can make your own oat flour by simply grinding gluten-free rolled oats in a blender or food processor.
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner. In the bowl of a large food processor fitted with an “S” blade, process together the flour, sugar, and coconut oil until crumbly. Add in the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and baking soda and process again until a thick dough is formed. Add in the vinegar last, and process once more to incorporate it thoroughly.
Use a heaping 1/4 cup to scoop the dough and drop it into 8 or 9 evenly-sized mounds on the lined baking sheet. Bake until the centers of the scones are firm to the touch and your kitchen is filled with a fragrant Fall scent, about 20 minutes. Allow the scones to cool completely before topping with the Creamy Maple Glaze.
To prepare the glaze, stir together the cashew butter, arrowroot, maple syrup and 2 teaspoons of water. Add more water if needed to thin, then spoon the glaze over each scone and serve. Thanks to the use of arrowroot, this glaze will “set” to an extent, similar to a glaze made with powdered sugar, after a few hours. (I noticed the glaze was dry to the touch after 4 hours.)
These scones can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to one week.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Scones:
- 2 cups gluten-free oat flour*
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut oil , chilled
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Creamy Maple Glaze:
- 2 tablespoons raw cashew butter
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 to 3 teaspoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner. In the bowl of a large food processor fitted with an "S" blade, process together the flour, sugar, and coconut oil until crumbly. Add in the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and baking soda and process again until a thick dough is formed. Add in the vinegar last, and process once more to incorporate it thoroughly.
- Use a heaping 1/4 cup to scoop the dough and drop it into 8 evenly-sized mounds on the lined baking sheet. Bake until the centers of the scones are firm to the touch and your kitchen is filled with a fragrant Fall scent, about 20 minutes. Allow the scones to cool completely before topping with the Creamy Maple Glaze.
- To prepare the glaze, stir together the cashew butter, arrowroot, maple syrup and 2 teaspoons of water. Add more water if needed to thin, then spoon the glaze over each scone and serve. Thanks to the use of arrowroot, this glaze will "set" to an extent, similar to a glaze made with powdered sugar, after a few hours. (I noticed the glaze was dry to the touch after 4 hours.)
- These scones can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to one week.
Notes
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 348, Fat: 17g, Carbohydrates: 49g, Fiber: 7g, Protein: 5g
Note: If you want to keep these scones nut-free, use sunflower butter instead of cashew butter in the glaze, or omit it all together. The scones are delicious on their own! For those following proper food combining, these scones are considered a starch if you omit the glaze.
—
Reader Feedback: Have you ever worked in a restaurant? If so, what was your favorite dish on the menu?
Absolutely delicious! I love the texture and the creaminess!
Hi there! Huge fan. I followed your directions exactly but these turned out more like cookies. The dough was pretty “runny”. Any tips for next time? The flavor was still fantastic.
Hi, could I make these without a food processor and use vegan butter instead of coconut oil? I was thinking of cutting cubes of the butter into the dough as I don’t have a food processor
Yes, I think that should work! You can even mix with your hands, if it needs extra help getting well blended.
Okay, great – thanks! I’ll let you know how it goes if I try that method.
Can you sub lemon juice for the ACV and get a similar result?
I found that this was a small amount of batter for 8 scones and they were very crumbly. Can you think of what might have gone wrong? Thanks.
This is an excellent recipe. I did not have to make any adjustments to the Ingredients. I don’t have a food processor so I used my kitchen aid stand mixer with the paddle and it worked very well. Delicious!
These were great! I was out of coconut oil so I substituted applesauce and they worked nicely. More like a muffin texture than a scone, so next time I might try in a muffin tin if I continue to sub out the oil. Great, simple recipe!
Another amazing recipe, Megan. So much flavor and texture – delicious!
I just tried this recipe and it’s amazing! I love the consistency, the smell but mine has an after taste of baking soda? I thought i did not mix the batter well but everyone of the scones have that taste. I followed the recipe exactly.
I’m going to make these in the morning. When trying a new recipe I always follow the recipe exactly. This time, I would like to cut back on the sugar. Could I half the coconut sugar without compromising the scone?
That would probably be okay, but I couldn’t say for sure. Please let us know how it works for you!