Tender almond flour pumpkin scones to herald the first glimmers of fall. Sugar-free and gluten-free.
The first pumpkin recipe of the season! This is cause for great joy and celebration. Well, if you are a pumpkin fan it is. If you don’t like pumpkin, I am terribly, terribly sorry. Because I suspect this is the first of many pumpkin recipes. Although I say that every year and the truth is that I tend to get side tracked by other fall and holiday flavours. Maple! Cranberries! Apples! Pecans! Did you ever see the movie “Up”? I am like the talking dogs when someone yells “squirrel!”. I am easily distracted by other beloved flavours. For now, however, I have great and glorious plans for that large orange squash. Buckle up, pumpkin fans, it’s going to be a wild ride!
I was inspired to make these scones the morning after we returned home from Canada. It had been cooler up there than normal and every morning had a tinge of early fall in the air. You felt warm enough in the sun, but the shade was breezy and light, without an ounce of humidity. It sent me into a pumpkin craving and I came back to Boston ready for the cooler weather and all the delicious food that goes with it. Except I returned back to summer. It hasn’t been blazing hot, but there is definitely more heaviness and humidity in the air. We’ve had a few slight moments that seem like fall might be coming, but then the humidity returns and you remember that summer officially has a few more weeks to go. And as loathe as I am to see the summer pass, I am still eager for that chill in the air.
I broke out the first can of pumpkin anyway, wanting to at least taste something that felt like fall. I have quite a little stash of organic canned pumpkin in my pantry. I seemed to pick up a can or two every time I went to the store last year, for fear of running low. But I clearly got distracted (Maple! Cranberries! Apples!) and didn’t make quite as many pumpkin recipes as I had plans for.
One tricky part with low carb, gluten-free pumpkin recipes is that the different brands of pumpkin seem to differ in moisture content. The extra moisture in some purees can make your final product on the gummy side. So I have adopted a trick I learned from the good folks at America’s Test Kitchen, and that’s to dry out the puree on paper towels before adding it to your recipe. Sop up that excess moisture and your low carb pumpkin scones won’t be soggy.
Pumpkin Scones with Cinnamon Glaze – Low Carb and Gluten-Free
Tender almond flour pumpkin scones to herald the first glimmers of fall. Sugar-free and gluten-free.
Ingredients
Scones
- 1 cup pumpkin
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup Coconut flour
- 1/3 cup Swerve Sweetener or other erythritol
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 2 tbsp cream
Glaze
- 1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener or other erythritol
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
- Line a plate with two layers of paper towel and spread out pumpkin puree. Top with another two layers of paper towel and press to absorb excess liquid. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, erythritol, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Stir in chopped pecans.
- Add pumpkin, eggs, melted butter and 2 tbsp cream and stir until dough comes together.
- Turn out onto prepared baking sheet and pat into a rectangle about 1 inch thick (about 6 by 8 inches in size). With a sharp knife, cut rectangle into 6 even squares, and then cut each square into two triangles.
- Gently lift scones and spread them around the baking sheet so they aren't touching. Bake 23 minutes, or until firm to the touch and lightly browned.
- Remove and let cool on pan.
- For the glaze, whisk together powdered erythritol, cream and cinnamon until smooth. Drizzle over cooled scones and let set 10 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Serves 12. Each scone has 13 g of carbs and 6 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 7 g.
Other Nutrition Info: 293 Calories; 25g Fat (73.1% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 50mg Cholesterol; 116mg Sodium.
your Coconut flour link is broken.
Other wise this looks so yummy!
I thought I fixed it. Off to check it out…
Delicious. And the link was fine when I tried it. Love all things pumpkin.
YAY for pumpkin recipes already!!! Love that time of year! Looks delish!!
Hah! So, it’s not only me who has stashes of pumpkins in the cupboard.
I EAGERLY await your recipes. Though we’re nowhere near boot-and-cardi season, the ginkos are turning already, and indeed, autumn is on the approach. Whoo hoo!
Is this one of those recipes I can use almond flour by Bob’s Red Mill? I think you described it as more of a meal than flour so would it ruin these scones?
What size can of pumpkin? Thanks for all the great recipes?
Oops, that wasn’t supposed to be a question mark. Thanks for all the great recipes!
The usual 15 ounce can. But it hardly matters since you only use one cup!
I was in Starbuck’s yesterday and noticed that fall had arrived. The PSL was on the menu 🙂 Thanks for confirming!!
These look delish… can’t wait to make.
I was just thinking “pumpkin”! These look good.
At our home, we are only gluten-free. Can I make this recipe with sugar instead of Swerve? If so, how much sugar would I use? Is there a formula for exchanging sugar with Swerve in your recipes?
Use sugar in the same amount.
Easy enough 🙂 Thank you for the quick reply
Yay! Pumpkin! I love it and have also learned to squirrel away cans of it. Thanks for the tip about the very liquid pumpkin too. I may try draining it in a coffee filter or a paper-towel-lined strainer or colander.
If one wanted a sturdier scone, more like a biscuit texture, what quick alterations would you suggest? Hmmm. Perhaps I should check the archives?
I’d say a bit more almond flour and coconut flour and you’d be set.
Thanks for the pumpkin puree trick! I’m excited to see fall coming. Pumpkin, apples and cranberries! Where do I start? 😉
Exactly how I feel!
Hi Carolyn,
What is the difference between cream and heavy cream? Because in the store all I ever see and use is heavy cream or evaporated milk?
thanks,
Susan
I use the terms interchangeably. When I say cream, I mean the full 35% milk fat stuff, which is usually labeled heavy cream or whipping cream.
thanks!
How about a party sized pumpkin cake? I have a big family so I need party sized desserts! 🙂
By the way, is it possible to make a low carb, gluten free bread loaf that puffs up like its carby, gluten filled counterpart? Or one that can be made succesfully in a bread machine? Ever since we also went gluten free my poor bread machine has been out of a job.
Hi Sarah…not sure what you mean by “puffs up”? I don’t have a bread machine so I don’t develop any recipes for it. I don’t even know how they work! Sorry.
Sorry for the confusion. I just mean a bread that rises and is light and airy rather than dense and thick, a yeast-type bread. It doesn’t have to be for a bread machine.
Yum! I drained my pumpkin in a paper towel lined sieve for about an hour and a half then dried it out a little more on more paper towels, as suggested. I ended up baking for an extra 10 minutes– 33 minutes altogether. I’ll probably try to get the pumpkin a little drier next time. The texture was almost there, and the *flavour* ( my nod to Canada, since I’m so close) is great and just the thing after a run on this rainy Pacific Northwest day!
Wonderful! Brands of pumpkin differ so much. The organic brand I buy is very thick and not watery at all, so I know it can make a huge difference to the outcome of the recipe.
My mom made the best pumpkin pie & she passed along her secret for drying the pumpkin puree.In a medium saucepan, on med. low heat, cook the pumpkin, stirring constantly, until dry.
These look so wonderful! Thank you Carolyn, and the promise of more pumpkin recipes has me thrilled. Someone pinned a high carb recipe for pumpkin cinnamon rolls on Pinterest and I’m thinking there has got to be a way to low carb those too. (hint, hint . . .) 🙂
Ooooo, a challenge! I will think about that one….
These are awesome!! I made with Koboha squash (didn’t have pumpkin and supposedly Kobocha is slightly lower carb). Didn’t have pecans so used Macadamia nuts and then added a few dried, unsweetened tart cherries! Absolutely crazy addicting!! Great recipe. Thanks!
I made these tonight and they were a hit! I did have trouble cutting them before baking, so instead I baked the dough/batter in a big rectangle, let them cool for 10 minutes and then cut them. It worked perfectly.
I also didn’t have cloves, so I added in a shake or two of pumpkin spice. I always find if you smell the batter and you smell pumpkin, then you have the spices right.
I also thought they were more cakey than sconey; but my husband and I didn’t mind. They were delicious. Definitley make this recipe! They would be great with a cup of coffee.
Btw, the baking powder is not listed in the instructions at all. I assume it goes in at step 3.
these are the BEST!
the only sub I made was splenda for erythritol because I can’t find it anywhere and they are delish!! I used a pizza cutter to cut them into triangles. We started eating low carb last year and each lost 20 lbs, then this spring we fell off the wagon. We started up again labour day and these are going to be something that gets me through the sugar cravings.
Highly recommend this recipe.
So delighted you liked them!
Carolyn, these are wonderful!!!!! I made a batch two days ago and took them to the office to share the pumpkin-love. They were devoured immediately and everyone was asking for the link to your site and/or the recipe. Thank you for the brilliant recipe 🙂 I made another batch last night for the family 🙂
So glad to hear it, Alicia! Thanks for sharing my blog with your friends.
I can not wait to make these! And I will most absolutely be making them (probably next weekend) I’ll let you know how they come out. They really look amazing. 🙂
PS – I wanted to reshare these on G+ but now I see you haven’t been on there in a while. I’m not the greatest with G+, either.
Yeah, I really need to get more active on G+!
Hello, I see that your initial recipe calls for one cup of pumpkin, however later in the comments you say to use a whole can (15 oz). Which one is best? I used a whole can, and I suspect that a cup would have been better.
Hi Sierra…I think you must have misread somehow. In the ingredients list, I say 1 cup pumpkin. In the instructions, I never say a can. A commenter asked what size cans of pumpkin I buy and I said 15 oz. But that doesn’t mean to use the whole can in the recipe. Follow the recipe instructions, not the comments. Thanks.
PS – I’ve changed my response to the commenter so it’s more clear. But please follow instructions next time…sometimes I am so busy with comments, I just answer them without seeing how they connect to the actual recipe.
OMG! Just made a batch of these scones and they’re out of this world. I love anything with pumpkins or apples, so when I saw this recipe I just had to try it; but I was low on almond flour so I completed the amount with flaxseed meal. (about 3/4 cup) and they turned out delicious. (And it worked out because flaxseed meal is very low in carbs!)
I’m gluten intolerant, diabetic and on a low carb diet, and this recipe address all my needs.
YAY!! Thank you!
Glad it worked well with the substitution!
I made these for our Canadian Thanksgiving for myself, the only one who can’t eat my mom’s fantastic apple pie. Needless to say, my non gluten family went CRAZY for these scones and ate almost all of the 12 pieces themselves. They are delicious and perfect for a fall day with a cup of tea or better yet a latte. Thank you for a great recipe. I will be making them again.
Ack, they ate all of your scones!!! Well, they’re pretty easy to throw together so I guess it’s okay… 🙂
I was going to ask what you could substitute for the almond flour? I have an allergy to almonds and soy also. Any ideas?
Sunflower seed flour?
I made these with evaporated cane juice rather than stevia, which tastes odd to me, and I didn’t have enough almond meal so I substituted gluten free flour for the last half cup. I also rubbed in the butter just because that’s how I make scones.
These were delicious. I had to cook them a little longer ~30 minutes. They don’t even need the glaze. Thank you for a delicious recipe.
I just made these, and can I just say, ohmyfreakinggoodness. They are absolutely delicious. I doubled the glaze, and they were incredible. Thank you so much!!
Glad they hit the spot!
I have been having the best time experimenting with this recipe. I just have to tell you about it. The first time I made them exactly as stated, and they were delicious. I had them for two weeks of breakfasts. But I found myself wanting them to be crispier and maybe a bit sweeter, so I decided to make them into cookies tonight. I increased the Swerve just a bit, to 1/2 cup, and bumped the spices up just a tad too, and scooped it out with my cookie scoop, flattened them a bit with a fork, ala peanut butter cookies, and baked them at 350 so they’d get a little browner and a little crisper, and they are amazing! AMAZING! Cookies for breakfast this week!
Your blog has been a real godsend for me. You’ve converted me to using almond flour and Swerve, and you share such great recipes. I am gluten intolerant–eating it causes inflammation all over my body and makes me feel terrible, like I am an arthritic old woman. But with the changes I’ve made lately, using your wealth of recipes and recommended ingredients, I am feeling much much healthier, and enjoying life more than ever. Thank you so much!
Wow, cookies, I never thought of that! But I love the idea…so glad your dietary changes have helped you so much.
Made these for the second time today. They are so yummy. Do I need to store them in the refrigerator?
They’re fine for 2 days on the counter but if you think they will last longer, refrigerate them.
I’m late to the party, but had to post. YUMMY! Oh my word. These turned out perfect. Just delicious. I did substitute walnuts for the pecans. Still yummy! We are snowed in, so I had some fun making some yummy recipes. So glad I picked this one. It will be a favorite from now on.
Glad you liked them!
Since starting THM I have wanted to try many dessert recipes and this one might be my first. I’ve been reluctant because I have a son with life threatening nut allergies. Most recipes come out fine omitting the Nuts. Can I substitute the almond flour with something else. I haven’t figured out this obstacle yet.
You should try sunflower seed flour. I find it to be a great 1:1 replacement. The only thing is that it can turn baked goods a little green so add 1 tbsp of lemon juice to help avoid that.
These were awesome!! I was nervous at first because they were a little moist in the middle when I sampled one straight from the oven. I thought I under cooked them or messed up the recipe because I didn’t drain the pumpkin, but the next day they were PERFECT after a few seconds in the microwave! Patience is a virtue…. Thanks for the wonderful recipe 🙂
Carolyn, I’m wanting to make pumpkin scones with the THM Baking Blend and I always turn to your recipes for anything baked-good-ish 🙂 Think I can sub the baking blend one for one with the almond/coco flour combo or will some other aspects of the recipe need adjusting? I seem to recall you’ve played around with the THM baking blend in other recipes, so I’m hoping your expertise with baking ingredients will have a good answer to this one 🙂
I think it will probably work in this scone recipe…they are meant to be on the drier side. Be ready to add a little more if you need to, or to add a little more liquid if your scone dough is too dry.
Oh thank you soooo much for replying! I know you have to be so slammed this time of year! I’ll try them out today! I’ve got a cup of pumpkin trying to go bad if I don’t hurry and use it 🙂 Ty!!
How did these turn out with the BB?
Made these over the weekend as an “ode to fall” – they were delicious and I shared some with friends and kept a few for me!
Can I use cold butter with these instead of melted? I wondered if that would make them have more of a scone texture.
You can certainly try! Cut it in finely.
well Carolyn……made these an hour ago and man they are good…….best way to tell you how good is they are right up there with your peanut butter chocolate scones…….will now have to start making one kind one week and the another the next week………thanks girl…………..you came up with another true winner
Aw, you’re the sweetest!