Carrot Cake Scones

Soft, chewy, brown butter carrot cake scones filled with warm spices, and brown butter nuttiness, and topped with a cream cheese glaze.

Okay, so I’ve been on a mission this year to produce less food waste. I’m guilty as charged of claiming I’ll get around to eating or cooking with something, and then forget about and throwing it out two weeks later. But watching all that food go to waste lit a fire under my butt and I wasn’t going to let the bag of carrots I had from making tuscan soup follow suit. I was originally thinking about making a plain carrot cake, but then I discovered I also had leftover buttermilk. This was my chance to become a fridge hero and use both in one recipe. Enter the brown butter carrot cake scone.

Scone Breakdown:

I used to hate scones, but once I had a good one I realized how yummy and versatile they are. American scones, the ones I feature recipes on, are similar to biscuits. They’re a mixture of flour, sugar, leavening agents, cold cold butter, a thick dairy liquid, and the occasional egg. Plus you can add virtually any dry pantry staple in as a mix in. These scones follow the same process as most. The two changes are brown butter instead of normal butter and buttermilk in place of heavy cream. I made these changes mostly for flavor purposes, the nuttiness from the brown butter and tang from the buttermilk. Plus, the buttermilk make them slightly healthier than most.

Brown Butter 101:

You can totally skip the brown butter in this recipe if you’re running short on time, but if you can spare an hour or two it’s so worth it. Brown butter is plain old butter that has been cooked on low heat on the stove for 5-8 minutes until some of the water has evaporated and it turns a rich brown color. You then have to re freeze it for 2.5 hours or preferably overnight until it cools back down and turns cold again. This recipe uses 9 tablespoons of butter because some evaporates while cooking, so if you exclude this step just use 8. Check out https://www.jessicagavin.com/how-to-make-browned-butter/ for more brown butter info.

Scone Ingredients:

Carrot Cake Scone Breakdown:

Start by putting all the dry ingredients in the bowl (this includes the flour, sugar, leavening agents, spices, and carrots) in a large bowl. We want to work the butter for the least amount of time so adding all the ingredients before the butter makes the process as quick as possible.

Then add in the cold cold cold butter, coat them with the flour, and smash them between your two fingers until all the pieces are lentil sized.

Whisk the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla together in a separate bowl (I just use the measuring cup from the buttermilk) and add it into the dry mixture. Mix with a spoon or your hands just until a shaggy dough with a few dry bits forms.

Dump the carrot cake scone dough onto your final baking sheet and press it into a 8 inch circle. Let chill for at least 45 minutes uncovered until the dough is completely hard.

Cut into 8 even triangles, brush with buttermilk and sprinkle sugar on top. Bake for 25 minutes at 400ºF until the bottom is brown and there are golden brown highlights on the top.

Brown Butter Carrot Cake Scones Tips:

• Chill the brown butter until completely cold, I chill mine in the fridge for 15 minutes and then move it to the freezer for another 2 hours. I use a very thin dish so it can get as cold as possible.
• If you feel the butter melting, chill chill chill. Give the dough 15 minutes in the fridge in between steps if you feel it warming up.
• Don’t cut the dough until after you chill it. Trying to cut the dough while it’s at room temp will create sloppy sticky scones. Instead chill the dough in one large circle and cut right before baking.
• DRIP TRAY, I cannot stress this enough. Some of the buttermilk and butter may leak out of your scones. It’s happened to me and they still turn out great but it can make a mess in your oven. Place a tray right beneath the scones to catch all the drips!

If you made these cookies, don’t forget to leave a review! It helps more people see these recipes and I love seeing your creations.

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Want More Scones?

Try my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones https://dishingwithdelaney.com/breakfast/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-scones/