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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!
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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
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*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.
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Reader Feedback: Have you ever worked in a restaurant? If so, what was your favorite dish on the menu?
Made these and they are DELICIOUS!! Will use a smaller scoop size. I made only six. No Biggie. They are Awesome! I am making another batch tomorrow. The house smelled Great as they were baking!!
These sound wonderful? Could you use Almond flour instead of the oat flour?
Absolutely delicious and make the house smell amazing!!
I worked in a fine dining restaurant in college and also learned so much about food and to get out of my comfort zone! Here’s something funny–I’ve been making gluten-free pumpkin scones for a few years now! I use natural cane and brown sugar instead of coconut sugar and frozen vegan butter and they are so nice when it’s chilly in the morning! We love them with hot herbal tea or apple cider. Oh, I add some fresh apple cider to the batter as well!
I got 5 1/2 c scones, not 8☹️️
They smell so good, though.
I don’t have arrowroot or cornstarch-could I use coconut oil?
Well, now I’m wondering if I got my measuring cups mixed up, so I’ll adjust the recipe to use a smaller measure for dropping the scones. I do hope you enjoy them! I’m not sure how coconut oil will affect the glaze– it would firm up if chilled, but not necessarily at room temperature. (It will depend on how cold your house is.) Let us know what you try!
Yes, I got 5 also, so I just made smaller scones. Wonderful recipe though! Made the house smell amazing!
Pumpkin scones, just in time for Halloween!
Hi Megan! Can I ask you why do you always use baking soda instead of baking powder? Sometimes baking soda leaves bitter taste. So I was wondering if I can just use baking powder..
Baking powder usually has some sort of starch added to the mix, which makes it less allergy-friendly. It used to be wheat starch was added, so it wasn’t safe for gluten-free consumers, but now it’s more common to use cornstarch– which is still not ideal for those who need to remain grain-free or are sensitive to corn. I find it’s more straight-forward to just use baking soda with some sort of acid, like vinegar for a similar effect. Baking soda shouldn’t be bitter if you use the right amount of acid with it. (Usually double the amount of acid to baking soda.)
These look great! Wondering if I can use another nut butter for the glaze? Thanks!
Another nut butter will change the flavor slightly, but I think you could definitely use a different one with delicious results!
Have you tried using raw honey instead of coconut sugar
Nope, I haven’t tried that! I know a lot of people don’t like cooking with honey because its health properties might be damaged, so I’ve stopped using it recently and only use it in my no-bake recipes now.
Hi Megan,
Thanks for always having such wonderful recipes. The one issue I’m confused abut and encountering a lot lately is seeing so much coconut sugar in recipes. The research I’ve done has lead me to believe that while coconut sugar has more nutrients than white sugar the nutrient content is still minimal (you would have to eat more than is healthy to actually gain any nutritional value) and that coconut sugar is ultimately no better than white sugar. So, while honey loses its health properties when cooked, I still feel better using a sweetener directly for nature rather than one that is processed. I’d love to know what your thoughts are on this or if you could direct me to any information on the contrary. Thanks again for the work you do, it’s definitely improved my quality of life and made eating healthy so much more enjoyable.
I tend to use coconut sugar in certain baked goods simply because the results are SO MUCH better. Sometimes you just need a granulated sweetener for certain textures, and date sugar doesn’t cut it. I do prefer to use raw honey and dates whenever possible, but there are some schools of thought that think honey actually becomes toxic when heated. I’m not sure I buy into that that, as there’s not enough research to say either way, but you can read another opinion here: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/is-cooking-honey-unhealthy/
But when you use coconut sugar and oil you are helping to price the product out of the reach of poor people in tropical countries who once depended on coconut products to survive. The same thing happened with quinoa, shea, and a dozen other foodstuffs which were once staples of developing societies.
People have died of this.
PEOPLE HAVE STARVED FROM THIS.
Eat white sugar. Eat honey. Eat butter or margarine. Buy food produced in the First World by people who won’t starve to death if prices increase. Stop exploiting poor people by taking away their food to satisfy your unethical, pseudoscientific food faddism.
Also, honey itself is not toxic and cannot be made toxic by heating; if anything heating it will destroy any botulism spores that might infect infants. Stop believing the lies of monstrous murderous con artist alternative medicine “practitioners”. They are always wrong.
can ן use almond flour or coconut flour instead?
Hi Gwen
– about honey!!! Honey is not vegan!!and this recipe is marked vegan!
These sound yummy! I love fall and these scones scream fall. Thanks for the recipe!