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Almond Flour Carrot Cake Scones are a low-carb breakfast or snack rich in heart-healthy fats. Incredibly moist, these gluten free scones are the perfect addition to any brunch or dessert spread.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love these Almond Flour Scones
As spring approaches, these nutrient-rich scones are a must on your baking list. Brimming with warm spices and speckled with fresh carrots, they offer the essence of carrot cake in a heart-healthy pastry.
These scones are also super easy to make. The idea of homemade scones seems to intimidate most, however if I can pull them off, anyone can.
They may even be simpler than baking a carrot cake (much like my Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf). Plus, they’re WAY lower in sugar than most scones/breakfast pastries.
The texture of these scones is quite different than your average (read: not dry at ALL!) thanks to the almond flour.
And in true carrot cake fashion, they’re also studded with walnuts, coconut flakes, plus some fresh orange zest.
Recipe Ingredients
- Almond Flour: The almond flour lends a buttery texture, making these gluten free scones super moist and almost a cross between a scone and a muffin.
- Maple Syrup: A little goes a long way in terms of sweetness.
- Glaze: The glaze is optional (but highly recommended!). Plus, it’s only two ingredients (powdered sugar and fresh orange juice), so why the heck not.
- Carrots: Freshly grated carrots is a must! Using a box grater makes the grating process pretty seamless.
- Coconut: I love the way coconut complements the classic carrot cake flavors.
- Spices: A mix of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg lend the classic warm spice profile.
- Coconut Oil: Make sure the coconut oil is room temperature, which makes for easier handling of the dough.
- Walnuts: For extra heart-healthy fats and a little crunch! Alternatively, you can use pecans.
Recipe Tips and Tricks:
Firstly, let me provide you with a couple tips to make the BEST homemade scones:
- Scones, like biscuits, are most tender when handled minimally. So, have your ingredients ready and use a soft touch when mixing and patting the dough.
- The dough will still be sticky after mixing, but refrain from adding more flour, as any extra could dry them out. Even though we’re working with a gluten free flour here, and you don’t have to worry about the dough becoming gummy from overworked gluten, you still want to achieve as light a crumb as possible.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat
- Combine your wet ingredients: egg, maple syrup, carrots, and vanilla in a small bowl; whisk to combine.
- Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl: almond flour, shredded coconut, baking powder, spices, and salt; mix well.
- Add the coconut oil and combine using a pastry cutter (or your hands) until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients and combine with a rubber spatula until everything appears moistened. Next, fold in walnuts.
- Work the dough into a ball with floured hands and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Press into a neat 8-10″ disc and cut into 8 equal wedges with a sharp knife. Sprinkle turbinado sugar overtop, if desired.
- Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before cutting through into 8 wedges. Lastly, prepare glaze by gradually whisking orange juice into powdered sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Drizzle glaze over scones right before serving.
Instead of wedges, you can also scoop and drop the dough by 1/4 cupfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet for easier prep and more crispy browned edges. Store any leftover scones in an airtight container for three to five days, or freeze up to one month.
Recipe FAQs
While they are both made from ground almonds, almond flour is typically made from blanched almonds that are pulverized more finely.
Almond meal has a grittier texture (similar to cornmeal) and generally requires more structure and binding agents for optimal leavening.
Almond flour and almond meal are sometimes labeled interchangeably, however there are slight differences between the two.
Store: Wrap any leftover scones, then place them in an airtight container, and store at room temperature for up to 2 days. After 2 days, refrigerate any remaining.
Freeze: Freeze baked scones in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Thaw and enjoy as desired.
If you give these gluten free scones a try, take a pic and tag #dishingouthealth on Instagram so I can see your beautiful creations. Also, follow along on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest recipe updates!
Other Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes:
Almond Flour Carrot Cake Scones
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup finely grated carrots
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 1/3 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg or allspice
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/3 cup solid coconut oil (at room temperature)
- 3 Tbsp. finely chopped walnuts, plus more for garnish
- 1 Tbsp. turbinado sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp. fresh squeezed orange juice + 1 tsp. grated orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Place egg, maple syrup, carrots, and vanilla in a small bowl; whisk to combine.
- In a larger bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flakes, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt; mix well. Add the coconut oil and combine using a pastry cutter (or your hands) until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Drizzle egg mixture over the flour mixture and combine with a rubber spatula until everything appears moistened. Fold in walnuts. (Dough will be a little wet/sticky.) Work the dough into a ball with floured hands and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Press into a neat 8″ disc and cut into 8 equal wedges with a sharp knife. Sprinkle turbinado sugar overtop.
- Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before cutting through into 8 wedges.
- Prepare glaze by gradually whisking orange juice into powdered sugar until desired consistency is achieved. (if you need to thin it out more, add more orange juice in 1 tsp. increments.) Stir in orange zest.Drizzle glaze over scones right before serving. Garnish with extra finely chopped walnuts, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
I calculate these values by hand to ensure accuracy, however expect up to a 10% variable depending on food brands.
Made them so easy can’t wait to taste! But mine didn’t rise much is that how they are.
Hi, Baskuta! Hmm… were your leavening agents within the suggested use date? I hope they still turned out delish despite not rising as much!
Thanks for the suggestion! Yes it’s still within usage date. They were delicious! Shared the recipe with my friends. They all loved it. I didn’t have coconut oil. Made with olive oil. Going to try tomorrow with coconut oil.
Oh I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for coming back and leaving a review. Cheers!
This is a awesome treat. I substituted the ginger for nutmeg and cinnamon for pumpkin spices.
Also, no walnuts so I used what I had which was
Almonds. I added 1/3 cup brown sugar and it turned out great. Without the 1/3 cup of brown sugar it was slightly unsweetened. We enjoyed!
Thanks,Yah Bless!
Can I substitute brown sugar for the maple syrup in the recipe?
Hi Rebecca, I haven’t tried using brown sugar myself, but I’d imagine it would work fine.
What can I substitute for the coconut oil? Butter? Or canola oil?
Hi Barbara, canola oil will work just fine!
If I dont add the coconut should I just add more almond flour?
Hi Nicole! You can just leave the coconut out. No need to swap in more almond flour. Enjoy!
These are delish, I made them today to send with my daughter for the weekend because one of her friends is gluten intolerant. This is my first try using almond flour, they turned out wonderfully, very moist and tasty. Will definitely make them again.
Thank you,
Michelle
Hi Michelle, I’m so happy to hear this!! Thank you for taking the time to leave a note. Cheers!
Are the walnuts just for flavor/texture? I’m allergic and wondering if they can just be omitted? The recipe looks delish!
Hi Rachele, you can totally leave them out or sub them for pecans. They’re just for a texture/flavor boost.
The instruction to cut the disk into 8 wedges is repeated twice. Are you supposed to cut the wedges before baking, after baking, or both?
I think when she says cut through the second time, it’s just to separate them.
I made them last night and because I do not eat sugar, maple sirop, honey or any substitute …. I added 1 cup of carrots instead of 1/3. …I used toasted coconut and more walnuts. They are so yummy.. . Thank you
I can’t eat egg whites… Do you think just an egg yolk will work?
HI Shawna,
I can’t say for certain since I haven’t tried that route, but I would probably use 2 egg yolks in place of the 1 whole egg., and then cut down the coconut oil to 1/4 cup. I hope they turn out!
I love scones. Always looking for a healthy. Low carb recipe. Thank you. I can enjoy scones again.
That’s wonderful, Chrislyn! I hope you enjoy these!