Before the games start in the evenings, Dad and I usually sneak in a little sightseeing in each city we visit on our baseball trips. We touched the Cloud Gate (aka the big metal jelly bean) in Chicago, toured the Henry Ford Museum en route to Detroit, and wandered around the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. We strolled through the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, climbed the steps of the Old North Church in Boston, and rode to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City.
But Seattle’s sights and experiences will always be some of my favorites.
Seattle was the first “big” baseball trip my dad and I took together exclusively for the stadium (and not as part of a family vacation like with Southern California, Arizona, and Colorado). After arriving, we immediately walked to the Space Needle for a breathtaking fog-free view of the entire city. Dad and I meandered over to the Pike Place Market next, where I fell in love with the flower stands full of yellow daisies and pink roses, and I resolved to open my own someday.
Before flying out the following morning, we stopped by the hotel’s restaurant for breakfast. Dad ordered an egg dish, and I probably did the same, but all I remember were the scones.
Oh. My. Goodness.
Cranberry, with a dusting of coarse sugar and hint of orange. Crunchy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside. I left half of my meal on the plate to save room for both my and Dad’s scones! (Yes, I stole his. Politely.)
With that memory in mind, I felt an overwhelming urge to bake scones the day before we left on our current baseball trip. Fresh out of dried cranberries, I turned to the next two “C” ingredients I could think of—carrots and cake—and combined them into one surprisingly soft (and secretly healthy!) scone. I wish I had stashed a few of these in my suitcase along with my muesli and oat bars… My mouth is watering just thinking about them!
Now you can eat cake for breakfast without any guilt! Store any leftovers in an air-tight container for up to 2 days on the countertop. (The cream cheese drizzle will soften, but it’s still okay to eat!)
- Preheat the oven to 425°, and lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Slice the butter into small pieces, and cut into the flour mixture using two knives or the back of a fork. When the mixture resembles fine crumbs, stir in the yogurt, 5 teaspoons of milk, and vanilla. Gently fold in the carrots.
- Divide the dough into 8 balls, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly. Brush the tops with 1 teaspoon of milk and sprinkle the granulated sugar on top. Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes, or until light golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cream cheese and remaining 1 teaspoon of milk until creamy. Stir in the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the tops of the scones.
Note: Because these are scones and meant for breakfast, they’re not as sweet as you’d expect a carrot cake to be!
I’m a baseball fan and live close to Seattle. I LOVE going to Safeco field! It’s like Disneyland to me and its such a beautiful ball field. Anyhoo, I’ve never tried a scone made with carrots and they sound delicious. I love me a good scone recipe and can’t wait to try these.
Oh Meredith, I’m envious that you can go to Safeco Field a lot! They offered some of the best food I’ve seen at stadiums, and I still remember how they served an apple slice with their garlic fries. If you try them, I really hope you enjoy the scones!
These scones are calling my name! They look delicious and you put greek yogurt in them, therefore they must be fantastic because greek yogurt makes everything better 😉
Consuelo, you are completely right!! Greek yogurt always makes everything better. And it tastes great at any time of day too!
Mmm… Carrot cake will forever have my heart! Especially with its most necessary sidekick… Cream cheese frosting! So glad you didn’t leave that out. Can’t wait to give these a whirl!
So true! Carrot cake and cream cheese frosting are basically a match made in heaven. Although… I just had the thought that carrot cake and honey cream cheese frosting might be even better!
You must be inside my head. You have to be. How else would you possibly know that I was thinking about scones today (honestly, I was!!) … and that I love carrot cake?!?
I never would have thought to put the two together … but this looks amazing. Yeah – I would probably (politely) steal some too!
Have you every made one large scone that you cut into wedges before baking? That’s how I had made them – wasn’t sure if this recipe would work that way or not!
PS – gorgeous pics again!!!
Great minds think alike, Gretchen! 🙂 I’ve made the wedge-style scones with a different recipe, but the middles turned out slightly doughy (which I didn’t mind but turned off other taste-testers). I probably could’ve spaced them out a little further on my cookie sheet, but I haven’t actually tried making the wedge-style since then. If that’s how you normally bake your scones though, then I’m assuming it’d work for this recipe too!
I just adore scones!! They make me feel so warm inside. PLEASE come back to Seattle!! We can eat scones and frolic in the yellow flowers all day while drinking COFFEE!
I hope that’s an invitation because I’m SO ready to look up flight prices and hop on a plane! I really want to go back to Seattle, especially if it involved you, scones, flowers, and coffee. And maybe a Mariners game too? 😉
I love these SO much! And Mel would die if Jordan wanted to visit baseball stadiums with him. That’s one of his bucket list items, to see every stadium!
Thanks Dorothy! I started to get into baseball when I was 8 years old and in 3rd grade, so maybe this is Jordan’s year! My grandma took us to a Padres game (they live in San Diego) and taught me how to keep score. I was sold from that day on! I’d love to hear Mel’s stories about different stadiums too; it’s really fun to trade stories!
In the ingredient list you have 4 Tbsp (Tablespoons) of milk, but in the directions you have tsp.(teaspoons). I tried making these and used tsp., but assume it must be tbsp. as I had to add more milk.
Thanks for pointing this out! I’ve now updated the recipe. I hope you enjoyed the scones!