Passover Carrot Scones

These were supposed to be muffins.  Then they didn't spread out in the oven and came out slightly dense.  Instead of figuring out what was wrong with the recipe, I decided to rebrand them.  Yes, scones use butter and not oil.  These taste like muffins, but have the resilience and portability of scones.

I'm not sure why chemical leavenings are ok on Passover (assuming they have a KLP designation).  You can use baking soda or powder with matzoh cake meal or potato starch and it's acceptable.  I've never done it before because I don't agree with the concept.  I guess it's because you're not waiting for anything to rise.  You can mix this and get it in the oven before fermentation starts.

I had a beautiful stand of carrots that were ready to pull.  Got to get them out so there's room to plant new ones.  Can't believe I'm already thinking about what I want to plant for summer.  A few went into the Roast over Vegetables, and two ended up here.  I had planned to use any "ugly" carrots in the scones and save the pretty ones for the roast, but they were all good.  So I used the fattest and smallest, and the middle ones were all about the same size.

I think my issue with home made carrot cake is that it doesn't taste carroty enough.  I decided to solve that problem by blanching the shredded carrot before stirring it into the batter.  Yes, it's an extra step and more dishes to wash, but you can cut down on the sugar and achieve the same flavor.  I also subbed in applesauce for some of the oil and sugar, like in the zucchini bread.

This is my 900th post!  Sure, there have been too many gardening, remodeling, and presentation discussions just to assure everyone I haven't given up some weeks, but I really do have a pretty decent catalog of recipes.  I delve into it myself frequently.  Like your mom's recipe box, but more organized and less splattered.

1/3 C sugar
*1 C matzoh cake meal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Tb cinnamon
1/4 C oil
1/2 C applesauce
1/4 C milk
2 eggs
2 C shredded carrots (raw)
1/4 C chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 C raisins (optional)

1.  Place carrot shreds in a  saucepan with water to cover.  Bring to a simmer for 3 minutes.  Drain.  Leave in the sieve to keep draining while you get the rest of the batter ready.

2.  Start preheating oven to 350º and line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat.  Combine dry ingredients.  Separately, beat together oil, applesauce, milk, and eggs.  This is going to look like too much liquid, but matzoh meal soaks it up like a sponge.

3.  Stir together wet and dry ingredients.  Unlike with flour muffins, you can't over mix these.  Stir in carrot shreds, nuts, and raisins.  It's still going to be pretty thick.

4.  Drop batter in 1/4 C mounds on baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes, until the jagged edges start to get dark.  Remove from pan to cool.

Makes one dozen

Difficulty rating  :)