True confessions here. Recently, I had dinner at a BBQ restaurant in town and they served a “sweet potato crunch.” These are what we call Thanksgiving sweet potatoes, a puree of potatoes with brown sugar, and pecans. Very rich tasting. I brought home almost all of it and decided to use it in scones. After checking two of three recipes, I combined a couple and made these scones.

Now, the carb count on the ones I made is higher because that crunch had real sugar in it. This version is made using sugar substitutes as well as flour substitutes that are low carb. For my flour choices, I used Carbquik, DCC All Purpose Flour, and Anthony’s Gluten Flour. You can use any low carb flour combination you like, but this selection worked out well for me. For the brown sugar and confectioners (powdered) sugar, I used Swerve, which has the best taste and measures like regular sugar.

For those who want to make this with nut flours, the measurements for those will follow this recipe.

1 cup Sweet Potato Puree
1 cup Low Carb Baking Mix (Carbquik, Bakesquick)
3/4 cup Low Carb All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Gluten Flour
1/4 cup packed Brown Sugar Substitute
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Pecans, finely chopped
5 tablespoons Butter, sliced into pieces
1/3 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Maple Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar substitute
3 tablespoons pure Sugar-free Maple Syrup
1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon

If you need to make the sweet potato puree, bake or microwave a large or three small sweet potato and scoop out the flesh. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with a parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, add the baking mix, all purpose flour, gluten flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder and finely chopped pecans and whisk together. Using a pastry cutter or your clean hands to cut the butter into the flour until mixture is like crumbles.

In a separate bowl, add the sweet potato puree, egg, milk, white sugar substitute, and vanilla extract and whisk until combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a large spoon until the ingredients are completely mixed together. The mixture will be thick, so use your hands to pull it together and knead it in.

Dump the dough in the center of the baking sheet and shape it into an 8″ circle. It will be about 1″ or more thick. Using a knife or pizza cutter, slice the dough into 8 even wedges. No need to cut all the way through unless you want to separate each scone to get a crust on the sides.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the scones are golden brown and cooked all the way through. If they brown too quickly cover the top with foil to prevent burning.

Prepare the glazes while the scones are baking. In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar substitute, sugar-free maple syrup, and cinnamon. Stir together until it is smooth and completely blended. Drizzle or spread the glaze over the scones.

If you wish, sprinkle a few chopped pecans on top of each scone. Makes 8 scones.

Hint: In either recipe, you can substitute 2 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice or All Spice for the cinnamon, ginger, clove, and nutmeg.
You can also substitute Unsweetened Coconut Milk for the Almond Milk, or you can use milk or cream.

Nut flour version (Gluten-free):

1 cup Sweet Potato Puree
1 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup Coconut Flour
1/4 cup packed Brown Sugar Substitute
2 Eggs, plus 1 Egg White
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Pecans, finely chopped
5 tablespoons Butter, sliced into pieces
1/3 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Maple Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar substitute
3 tablespoons pure Sugar-free Maple Syrup
1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon

The instructions to make are the same as above. You may have to add a tablespoon or more liquid if the dough is too dry. The extra eggs and egg white should provide enough to hydrate the coconut flour. The extra egg white will help the dough rise.

Makes 8 scones.