These carrot biscuits are all about moisture and flavor, and they might be a fun twist on a classic, but they are designed for the biscuit skeptics in you life. I love a good biscuit, but too often I hear that people think they are “dry” or “boring,” and this biscuit is designed to counteract that (very false!) notion. These biscuits are subtly sweet, deliciously moist from the carrots, but still maintain a crispy exterior and cravable, flakey layers. With spring here and carrots in abundance, there’s no better time for a carrot biscuit.
Plus, this recipe only makes 6 generous, golden biscuits. So if you are looking for an easy biscuit recipe for a weekend morning, these are a great contender.
Table of contents
When are carrots in season?
Although you can easily find carrots in most grocery stores year round, they do, in fact, have a peak season like any other fruit or vegetable. Or technically, two seasons. Carrots are first planted once the ground is soft in early spring, then again in late summer, and are harvested in late spring and fall.
The fact that they have two growing cycles in much of the US means we get to enjoy them for more of the year than some other produce. Fall harvests are often extended in temperate regions by leaving them in mulch-covered ground to be slowly harvested in the cooler months, or cellared to be sold during winter months.
Although they’re available year round, you’re likely to find the best, most delicious carrots from June through early August—the exact time may vary depending on where you live.
Why put carrots in these carrot biscuits?
While it may initially seem ~a little unordinary~ to put carrots in a biscuit, and I may actually be pushing biscuit skeptics further from the desire to try them, carrots actually have a long history of being incorporated into baking in times when sugar was hard to come by. Not only are carrots a great way to add sweetness to your baked goods without only one simple ingredient, they also add moisture, nutrients, and a touch of character to your biscuits. Like confetti, but subtle.
How to prepare the carrots for this recipe
We want to incorporate the natural sweetness and moisture of the carrots, but we don’t want them to be too prominent or leave our finished product too wet. To avoid a soggy, unbakeable biscuit, we finely grate the carrots and then squeeze out any excess moisture with our hands. This ensures the finished product is moist, but overall balanced and easy to work with!
Ingredients you will need for carrot biscuits
The ingredients in this recipe are pretty standard, so if you’ve dabbled in baking before, you’ll likely have most of them already on hand. Here’s what you need to make these carrot butter biscuits:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 300 grams
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use half if using Morton’s
- 1 tsp cinnamon, optional
- 8 tbsp salted butter, 113 grams, chilled
- 1/2 cup & 2 tbsp buttermilk, chilled
- 2/3 cup grated carrots, squeezed out of all excess moisture, 110 grams after the squeezing
- 1 medium egg, for egg wash
Why is this recipe in grams?
Baking is a very finicky and exact science. The only way to ensure complete accuracy is through measuring by weight, and not volume. As much as I wish I could give you multiple ways to measure ingredients, in this recipe measuring by cups might cause some volatility and miss-matched results. I want to ensure you get the best results with this recipe (and I want to keep this recipe fool-proof!) so I highly recommend getting a small affordable kitchen scale if you want to move forward with this particular recipe!
How to prepare the sweet carrot biscuit dough
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
Cube the butter into 1 cm thick pieces, add to the flour mixture. Toss with your hands to coat in the flour, then squeeze the pieces into flatter pieces, breaking them up with your hands until they are all about bean sized and combined into the flour. Make a well in the center.
Pour the buttermilk into the center of the well, then add the carrots. Working quickly, use your hands to form a shaggy dough. Give it a few kneads in the bowl to bring it together, then put the bowl in the refrigerator. Let chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Whisk together the egg in a small bowl.
Flip the dough out onto the counter and flatten into a rectangle. Cut the dough into thirds and place them on top of each other, press down to create numerous flakey layers. Rotate this new piece of dough 90° and repeat one more time. Then pat the dough down into a rectangle about 2″ tall. Cut into 6 even pieces.
Evenly spread out the carrot biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush each with the egg wash.
Bake for 24-26 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden and almost double in height. Serve warm!
FAQ
While other ingredients could serve similar functions in delivering sweetness and moisture—zucchini or pumpkin, for example—they are difficult to substitute without adjusting the other ingredients and cook time of this recipe. I’d stick to just carrots for these particular ratios!
Sure! Mix your biscuit dough and store tightly wrapped in cling wrap in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. The dough will keep for 3-4 days.
You want to keep leftover biscuits from getting dried out once they’re cooked. Placing them in an airtight container will keep them fresh for a few days. Be sure to cool biscuits completely before storing.
Looking for other baking recipes?
And that’s everything for these carrot butter biscuits!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Watch the recipe here
The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.
Carrot Butter Biscuits
Equipment
- 1 bench scraper
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 300 grams
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt use half if using Morton's
- 1 tsp cinnamon optional
- 8 tbsp salted butter 113 grams, chilled
- 1/2 cup & 2 tbsp buttermilk chilled
- 2/3 cup grated carrots, squeezed out of all excess moisture 110 grams after the squeezing
- 1 medium egg for egg wash
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
- Cube the butter into 1 cm thick pieces, add to the flour mixture. Toss with your hands to coat in the flour, then squeeze the pieces into flatter pieces, breaking them up with your hands until they are all about bean sized and combined into the flour. Make a well in the center.
- Pour the buttermilk into the center of the well, then add the carrots. Working quickly, use your hands to form a shaggy dough. Give it a few kneads in the bowl to bring it together, then put the bowl in the refrigerator. Let chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Whisk together the egg in a small bowl.
- Flip the dough out onto the counter and flatten into a rectangle. Cut the dough into thirds and place them on top of each other, press down to create numerous flakey layers. Rotate this new piece of dough 90° and repeat one more time. Then pat the dough down into a rectangle about 2" tall. Cut into 6 even pieces.
- Evenly spread out the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush each with the egg wash.
- Bake for 24-26 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden and almost double in height. Serve warm!
These are SO GOOD. They’re vaguely sweet with that tinge of cinnamon, but turned out amazing and we devoured the whole bunch with dinner. Thank you for the amazing recipe Justine!!!
I made these biscuits and used them to make a ham sandwich. These biscuits were so tender and I loved the texture of the carrot.
Made these for Easter brunch and they were a HIT. So moist and not too sweet. I was worried these would taste like carrot cake, but not at all . Also loved the beautiful pop of color from the carrots. Great recipe!!
I’m so thrilled you liked them!!
Turned out great! I’ve started juicing so instead of the carrot, I had grapefruit and lemon pulp and used that. Given these are a bit bitter/sour, I added an extra tablespoon of sugar. Was quite good, still had a slight bitter bite, but I can see how the carrot pulp would work nicely. Will try that the next time I have some.
Ooo that’s such a cool way to tweak it! I’m glad it turned out, and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I hope others will try it your way too 🙂
These biscuits are heaven and so easy to make! Honestly, grating the carrots took the most time (since I only had a handheld microplane). Second time, I shredded them in a food processor twice to get shorter pieces. Less liquid was able to come out of the carrots, but the structure of the biscuit remained! I also doubled the batch the second time (with the shredded carrot) and no issues there!