Carrot Cake Scones @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Twice this spring I saw a recipe float by for carrot cake scones. I decided that Mother’s Day would be the perfect occasion to try them out. The recipe originally comes from Sarah Carey at King Arthur Flour, with some tweaks by me. Don’t be tempted to skip the frosting, as it makes them really delicious.

Ingredients

2/3 cup pecans

Two medium carrots

2 1/3 cups flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

Three-quarter teaspoon salt

Three-quarter teaspoon cinnamon

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen

One large egg

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup brown sugar

For the frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

Pinch of salt.

Heavy cream or whole milk as needed

Preheat the oven to 400°. Toast the pecans on a baking sheet until turning golden, about six minutes. Let them cool and then chop by hand or grind in a food processor.

Peel the carrots and grate. This should give you about a cup and a quarter of grated carrots. I used several golden carrots leftover from my vegetable box.

Grate the frozen butter.

Whisk together the dry ingredients, including the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the grated butter. Add the carrots and the pecans and stir gently.

Whisk together the egg, sour cream, and the sugar. Add the liquid mixture to the dry and mix gently until just incorporated.

Place the dough on a piece of parchment sprinkled with flour, and knead briefly. Divide into two discs and flatten them. Cut each disc into six pieces. Move the parchment to a baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until the scones are just turning golden brown.

While the scones cool, beat the cream cheese with the butter. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar and a pinch of salt. Add milk or cream if needed to bring frosting to a spreadable consistency.

Spread each scone with frosting. These are delicious served right away, but I also tried freezing them (even with frosting!) Those were delicious as well.

Happy Mother’s Day to all mother figures!

Don’t forget to pre-order LUCY BURDETTE’S KITCHEN, Recipes and Stories from the Key West Food Critic mystery series...

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including USA Today bestselling and Florida book award winning A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. You can order that wherever books are sold. 

If you’re all caught up, try Lucy’s first women’s fiction title, THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS.

Also follow Lucy on Facebook, and sign up for her mailing list right here.