Fun fact #1: I worked at Panera Bread the summer after my freshmen year of college. The perk: There were always leftover treats to take home. The best part of the perk: Sometimes those leftover treats were scones.
I had never even tried a scone before working at Panera. Dry, flaky biscuit? No thanks. But one bite of the cinnamon chip scone was all I needed to be convinced that scones are one of the best pastries on the planet. It’s a biscuit, piece of cake, thick cookie, and muffin all rolled into one divine pastry. You can’t go wrong!
Since my Panera days, I’ve learned to love all the scones, even the savory ones! The flavor possibilities are endless, which is why I decided to incorporate my love for carrot cake into this recipe. Fun Fact #2: I was so close to serving carrot cake at my wedding reception. I was dead set on it after devouring the sample at the cake tasting. But as delicious as it was, my husband shot down my grand plan deeming it a little unconventional for a summer wedding. Touché. The red velvet and bailey’s Irish cream flavors won out. Seriously though, I’ll take carrot cake over chocolate cake any day. Why? Because it’s a cinnamon-spiced, delightfully moist and fluffy cake topped with CREAM CHEESE frosting!!
And there’s plenty of cream cheese frosting to be had on these Carrot Cake Scones. I guess it’s more like a glaze. Either way, you get that sweet, tangy flavor in every bite. Another perk to these scones is that they’re lightened up. I used a fraction of the butter that you’d use in traditional recipes, and I used Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream or buttermilk. The result is a light, cake-y scone that’s not overly sweet, which is okay because you’ll finish everything off with a liberal drizzle of cream cheese glaze. Pro tip: make extra glaze and use it as a dipping sauce for the scones!
Eat these Carrot Cake Scones for a quick breakfast (cut them in half and smear on healthy spoonful of almond butter. so good!), midday snack, dessert, or make them for your next brunch party!
Carrot Cake Scones
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 12 scones 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 large carrots, shredded
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons of milk (I used unsweetened Almond Breeze)
Instructions
- Make the dough: Preheat the oven 350 degrees. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or 2 butter knives, cut the cold butter chunks into the mixture until crumbly. In another bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, sugar, carrots, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined. If the dough seems dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water or milk.
- Shape the dough and bake: Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it a few times. Then transfer it to a large lined baking sheet or pizza stone and form it into a large flat circle about 10 inches wide and 1 inch high. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 12 equal slices. Bake for 20-22 minutes.
- Make the glaze: While scones are baking, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Whisk together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and milk until the mixture reaches a smooth consistency. Separate the round of scones into 12 pieces. Drizzle the frosting over the scones.
iis it really supposed to be a Tablespoon of cinnamon?
I updated to 1 teaspoon. Thanks for the question!