Carrot Cake Scones (The Ridiculously Easy Way)
These bakery-style carrot cake scones are soft, tender, and packed with warm spices, then generously topped with a rich brown sugar-caramel glaze. Made the Ridiculously Easy way for flaky texture without cutting in butter. Perfect for brunch or gifting!
Servings: 8 scones
Calories: 463kcal
Ingredients
For the Scones
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup heavy cream chilled in freezer 15 minutes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¾ cup shredded carrots fairly well packed (see note)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
For the Brown Sugar Caramel Glaze
- 1 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar dark or light
- 1 tablespoon half-and-half plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar plus more as needed
Instructions
Prep
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven.
- Measure the heavy cream and place it in the freezer for about 15 minutes while preparing the remaining ingredients.
- Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl, covered with a slightly damp paper towel, heating in 10-second intervals if needed. Set aside to cool slightly.
- If using pre-shredded carrots, chop them into smaller pieces. If shredding your own carrots, press them between several layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture.
Make the Dough
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, shredded carrots, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Make a well in the center.
- Stir the chilled cream into the melted butter until small butter globules form.
- Add the butter/cream mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork until mostly incorporated, then use a silicone spatula to gently bring the dough together. The dough will be thick and slightly crumbly. Do not overmix.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Press together and gently knead a few times to form a cohesive mass.
- Pat into a 6x8-inch rectangle. Cut in half and stack one half over the other. Repeat once more for light layering.
- Shape into a 6-inch round disc.
- Cut into 8 equal wedges, wiping the knife between cuts for clean edges.
Chill & Bake
- Place scones at least 2 inches apart on the prepared pan. Chill 25–30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Bake 18–22 minutes, rotating after 15 minutes, until lightly golden.
- Transfer to a cooling rack.
Make the Glaze
- Combine butter, brown sugar and half-and-half in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 1 minute until melted; whisk. Microwave 1 more minute.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Adjust consistency with more half-and-half or powdered sugar as needed.
- Drizzle over cooled scones.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
If your oven runs hot, bake the scones on a double sheet pan to prevent over-browning on the bottoms.
If scones lean during baking, gently straighten them with a flat spatula immediately after removing from the oven while still warm.
The glaze thickens as it cools. If needed, whisk in a small splash of half-and-half to loosen.
Short on time? Scoop the dough with a large cookie scoop instead of shaping it into wedges. I get 12 rounded scones when doing it this way.
The nutritional information is for 8 wedge-shaped scones. If you make scoop scones, it will be different.
This recipe calls for half & half. For readers living outside of the U.S. or Canada, half & half is an American convenience product that's often used in coffee. It's simply a combination of half milk and half cream.
Nutrition
Calories: 463kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 274mg | Potassium: 290mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 2848IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 2mg