Based on a November classic

The classic Carrot Cake with the natural sweetness of fresh carrots and brown sugar topped with a vanilla cream cheese icing was the inspiration for these crispy November scones. The finely grated carrots add natural sweetness with less brown sugar.

Carrots, cinnamon, and ground gloves fill these scones with sweet, woody, citrus tones and a hint of heat. Chopped walnuts add a delightful crunch while the classic vanilla cream cheese icing balances the overall experience to a nostalgic treat as Thanksgiving approaches.

Step by step instructions

Blend the wet ingredients:

Blend the milk and egg together thoroughly using a milk frother or blender. Transfer the ingredients to a squeeze bottle and put it in your refrigerator to cool until you combine the wet and dry ingredients.

TIP: If you’re making a second batch to cook or freeze, blend the wet ingredients for both batches and place them in separate squeeze bottles.

Combine the dry ingredients:

Add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ground cloves to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.

Grate the carrots using a fine box grater. You should end up with about 1 cup of grated carrots. Add these to the other dry ingredients in small batches, using the tines of a large fork to thoroughly mix each batch before adding another. The carrots should be evenly distributed without any clumps.

Slice the butter into chunks:

Slice the butter into chunks by cutting the length of a stick of butter you’re using in half along its long side, flip it on its side, and slice it again in half. Then cut the long side in half and each half into quarters. Mix the butter chunks into the dry ingredients.

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients:

Use a butter cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until they are about the size of peas.

TIP: Slightly larger chunks create a crunchier scone, leaving bigger gaps in the crumb when they melt.

Put the dry ingredients in your freezer for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients:

After 15 minutes, remove the bowl with the dry ingredients from the freezer and place it on a sticky pad. A sticky pad makes this step go faster by keeping the bowl still while stirring in the wet ingredients. You may have to rub the bottom of the bowl to remove any ice before putting it on the sticky pad.

Remove the squeeze bottle with the wet ingredients from the refrigerator. Slowly combine the wet and dry ingredients by squirting a thin line with the squeeze bottle and rapidly stirring it in with the tines of a large (serving) fork. This MUST BE DONE BY HAND. You don’t want to create a mix or dough. You want to wet the dry ingredients to keep them in pea-sized clusters.

When the dry ingredients start to look wet, use the tines to pull the moist ingredients to one side. This will expose the drier ingredients below. Use smaller squirts from the squeeze bottle onto the dry ingredients and stir faster with the tines. When no dry ingredients are left, stop adding liquid.

Add in the chopped walnuts:

Sprinkle half of the chopped walnuts on top of the dough and mix thoroughly with the tines of the large fork. Sprinkle the remaining half of the chopped walnuts and again mix thoroughly with the tines of the large fork.

Form the dough:

Start to form the dough. Gently press it down and fold it a few times until it forms one log. Fold the log in half and move it to a silicone mat.

It’s easiest to form the dough using a 7” cake ring. Press the dough from the center outward until the dough fills the ring. Swirl the ring around the dough to give it a better edge. Then remove the ring.

If forming by hand, use the measured circles on your silicone mat to form the 7″ circle, then press the flat side of your long knife around the edges to firm them.

Cut the dough into eight scones:

Make four equal cuts with a long serrated knife to divide the dough into eight sections. Move the knife slightly back and forth on its flat side with each cut to make it easier to separate each scone.

Place the scones on your baking sheet:

Slide the flat side of the long knife under each scone and move it to the parchment paper on the baking sheet.

TIP: If you plan to store or serve the scones on a 10” cake round after they’re baked, make sure to place them on the parchment paper in the same order that you take them off of the dough circle. Otherwise, they will not form an even circle.

Bake:

Place your baking sheet on a middle rack in your preheated oven and bake for eight minutes at 400°.

When eight minutes is up, turn the pan around in the oven and bake for another seven to eight minutes. The center of the scones should feel solid, not liquidy. Remove the scones to a cooling rack.

TIP: If you plan to store or serve the scones on a 10” round after they’re baked, make sure to keep them in the same order that you took them off of the original dough circle. Otherwise, they will not form an even circle.

Ice the scones:

Leave the cream cheese out at room temperature while the scones are cooking. Wait until the cones have cooled before icing them.

Place the powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl if using a hand mixer. Cut the cream cheese into cubes and mix it with the powdered sugar. Beat the powdered sugar/cream cheese with a flat blade on a low speed for about 2 minutes until they start to come together.

Add the vanilla extract, increase the speed of the mixer, and beat for 2 minutes until the ingredients are fully blended. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Then put the mixer on its highest setting and beat for 3 minutes until it forms a velvety icing.

Use a spatula or frosting knife to spread a layer of icing on each scone.