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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.
Hi Can I freeze the scones prior to baking ?
Thank you
These were even better than expected! I am a HUGE carrot cake fan and hadn’t made scones in a while so the combination of the two was desirable for me. These were moist and perfectly sweet. I couldn’t just eat 1! Thanks for the delicious recipe 🙂
These were absolutely delicious. Loved the crumb texture, level of sweetness. Forgot the chopped nuts in the dough so I sprinkled them on top of the drizzle. Made me want seconds!
Hi Terry–I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! Thank you for taking the time to leave a rating and review!
This were delicious! I made them vegan by subbing in a flax egg and used cold vegan butter which worked perfectly! My family loved them and said they tasted like fall fair donuts! Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
Hi Molly–I’m so glad you enjoyed these! Thank you for taking the time to leave a rating and review!
Could I sub butter for the coconut oil?
Yes butter should work fine! Just make sure it’s room temperature.
Have made these scones several times. They are excellent! I am allergic to gluten & dairy and sensitive to sugar & yeast. I am so thankful to folks like you who devlop delicious recipes without those ingredients, easy to make (I don’t like to bake), and use common products we keep on hand. I also appreciate these scones freeze nicely.
Hi Joy–I’m so glad you enjoy them! I’m not a huge baker either, and enjoy how simple these are. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
I have made these lovely scones several times now but today I wanted to have little muffins. And so I added about 1/3 cup of nut milk to make them a little moister and I much say that they turned out lovely!
I have made this recipe many times and I’m always amazed at how good these turn out. The extra spices really shine and make some complex flavors. I am gluten-free and dairy free and I make these for all of my gluten eating friends and they constantly request them.
Wow! This was such a good tip. The muffins were delicious!
My favorite recipe of hers! All are good (lasagna soup, brown butter pumpkin tahini bars, the list goes on) but this one is my favorite! A must make!
Hi there! I’m excited to try these for a nice breakfast change! I have to watch how much coconut oil I consume due to ulcerative colitis. Could I suv avocado oil for the coconut oil?
I was out of coconut oil, subbed canola oil. Came out perfect, delicious.
Hi Gail, I’m so glad to hear! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Could I use the same amount of whole wheat flour/unbleached all purpose flour in place of almond flour?
Hi Nancy, unfortunately whole wheat and all-purpose flour don’t work well in this recipe. The extra fat from the almond flour is what helps moisten them with little added oil.