A delicious low carb knock off of Starbucks’ Mini Vanilla Bean Scones. Get your cappuccino ready, because breakfast is served!
I’ve made no secret on this blog of my Starbucks addiction. The funny part is, it’s not like I go every day. Or even every week. It’s just that I really love all things Starbucks. I love the way it feels to walk into a Starbucks and order your favourite coffee drink. I love the warm wood panelling and the modern design of the stores. I love the coffee and I love that they let you order it pretty much any way you want, to suit almost any dietary needs. I ordered a cappuccino the other day and asked for it to be made with half and half instead of milk. That has a name, I discovered; it’s called a cafe breva. So now I can order it again with the proper Starbucks terminology. Because yes, friends, I have swallowed the Starbucks lifestyle and all the lingo hook, line, and sinker. And I am okay with that.
I used to also have quite an affection for many of the Starbucks baked goods. Even now, when I stand in line to order my rocket fuel with half and half, I eye them lovingly. But these days, I am not looking at them with any temptation to actually eat them, but more with the idea of gaining some inspiration. Because I love nothing more than making over an old favourite and I have found that Starbucks treats lend themselves very well to makeovers. I’ve already done any number of them, actually, and now here is one more.
Those cute little mini vanilla bean scones are just an ideal subject for low-carbification. I can make a rocking good low carb scones and I can make a rocking good vanilla glaze. It was only a matter of time before I put it all together. And part of the inspiration was the discovery of vanilla powder, which is really just ground up vanilla beans. It sure beats trying to scrape this infinitesimally small seeds out of a vanilla bean pod. Of course, you can do that in this recipe if you choose but I suspect that vanilla powder is going to be very useful. I’ve even sprinkled it on my homemade cafe breva for a real coffee house experience at home! Do be forewarned if you choose to order some yourself. There are “vanilla powders” out there that are actually mixes of ground vanilla beans and sugar. Just get the straight up ground vanilla beans and you will be all set.
And be sure to check out all of my other Starbucks copycat recipes below!
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla powder ground vanilla beans OR seeds scraped out of 1 vanilla bean OR 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder OR seeds of 1/2 a vanilla bean OR 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tbsp water
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silicone liner.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, vanilla powder, and salt.
- Stir in eggs, melted butter, cream and vanilla extract until dough comes together.
- Split dough into 3 equal portions and form into disks, each about 1 inch thick and 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Cut each disk into 8 equal pieces.
- Place on prepared baking sheet and bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until just golden and firm to the touch.
- Remove and let cool completely.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together Swerve, vanilla powder, cream and water until well combined. Dip the top of each scone into glaze and place on a baking rack until set.
Serves 12. Each serving has 6.82 g of carbs and 3.09 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 3.73 g.
Food energy: 202kcal
Total fat: 17.34g
Calories from fat: 156
Cholesterol: 41mg
Carbohydrate: 6.82g
Total dietary fiber: 3.09g
Protein: 7.24g
Other Low Carb Starbucks Copycat Recipes
Donna Hup says
Vanilla Bean is one of my favorite flavors. These look divine.
Joan Hayes says
Loving the look of these scones – they look like they’d blow Starbucks’ scones out of the water! 🙂
Kristin says
I love all your recipes and blogs, I am disappointed that you like Starbucks!!!! You live in Stumptown now…so many GOOD coffee choices! Just a friendly chiding from a devoted fan…..and fellow T1D.
Carolyn says
Haha, I get it. But I am a new transplant to Stumptown and I am exploring the coffee scene. I do frequent some independent coffee places, I just still like the Starbucks “style”, if you will.
tiffany says
My kid’s first sentence was actually copying me hollering my order at the Starbucks drive thru! He couldn’t pronounce Starbucks so he said “Saba Saba, decaf mocha and bacon sandwich”
Lesley says
Hello Carolyn,
I remember a while back you stated you like NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia liquid. I purchased this product and really like it. Was going to reorder on Amazon and noticed a few comments from people stating they have changed the product and it doesn’t taste anything like it used to. Have you found this to be true? If so, can you refer me to a product you like.
Thank you,
Lesley
Carolyn says
I still use it and it tastes fine by me!
Pam says
Hubby and I tried these today. What a great recipe! It has been ages since we’ve had anything remotely “cake-like,” and we enjoyed the heck out of these little scones. Thank you!
Pam
Kim says
Can you tell me if these are gluten free? They look yummy!
Carolyn says
Yes, they are gluten-free.
Kathy says
Being dairy free, would using ghee instead of the butter work?
Also coconut creamer or full fat coconut canned milk instead of cream?
They look so good!
Carolyn says
Yes, ghee and full fat coconut milk would work well.
Natalie says
I just made these and they are amazing!!!! Dessert for breakfast??!! Yum! Only change I made was to use cream cheese instead of cream in the icing. My son wanted to use the cream in his little icrcream maker☺️
Deborah says
I just made these and they are amazing! Mine came out a little more cakey than scone but I’m not complaining! Delicious!
Deirdre says
made these last nite ! Very good & easy to make! Didn’t need the water for the glaze.
Will put these in my rotation!
Thank you!
Carolyn says
Glad you liked them!
Kristy says
These look great! How long do they keep for? Do they need to be kept in the fridge? Just wondering if I should half the recipe depending how long they keep for 🙂
Thanks
Carolyn says
They will keep for a week in the fridge.
Tanya says
Hi there, I am in Australia and we differentiate between almond flour and almond meal (ground almonds), so I am wondering for your recipe which one I need. FYI Almond flour here is the dehydrated pulp left over from making almond milk and is much drier with less oil content than almond meal.
Thank you 🙂
Carolyn says
Almond flour here is just ground almonds but I try to get the finest one I can. Coarse ones can make things not turn out very well. If your almond meal is to coarse, i would do a combo of both to get a finer consistency.
Tanya says
Thank you 🙂
Diane says
Just wanted to confirm that it is 1 tablespoon baking powder, if you could confirm this would greatly appreciate it, thanks
Carolyn says
Yup. 1 tablespoon.
Bridget says
These are fantastic! I’ll also use this as a base recipe for different flavored scones. Thank you! Thank you! My little ones love them for breakfast.
Meg says
Made these today, so delicious and also approved by the non-low carber in the family! Also made the coffee cake last week which was a big hit. You are amazing, thank you for these recipes. I have about 20 bookmarked for trying out! You have made low carbing so much more exciting.
mindy says
Hi Carolyn,
I was trying to get to the maple pecan scone recipe but the link takes you to the pumpkin muffins ( they’re wonderful btw) tried it 4x. I’m going to search for it a different way but thought I’d let you know. Trying to get back on track, I lost 18 lbs which I would’ve never achieved without the help of your fabulous recipes. I fell off the wagon and I’m trying to get back on track with a little help from you !
Carolyn says
Thanks for letting me know!
Courtney says
absolutely fantastic! very tender but not too much crumbling and ultimately delicious!
Cindi says
I’m wondering if you could replace some of the almond flour for oat fiber to lower the carbs?
Carolyn says
Possibly but it’s much drier so be prepared to add a little more oil or eggs.
Kalena says
I just made these with Bob’s Red Mill Paleo flour. I adjusted the cream to 12 – 14 tablespoons because of the coconut flour that in the Paleo flour. I also used two tablespoons of baking powder. They came out great and my family topped them with homemade clotted cream! Yummy!.
Jennifer Farley says
These with a cup of tea would be perfection!
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts says
No need to go to the coffee shop again! And that glaze on top is perfect!
Meseidy Rivera says
I wish I had these to go with the coffee I’m drinking right now.
Jennifer Blake says
I am one of those weird people that would prefer vanilla over chocolate so this sounds like the perfect treat to go with my tea.
Elaine says
These scones look amazing. Wish I could tolerate swerve or any sugar alcohols. The only sweeteners I can tolerate are stevia, coconut sugar, maple syrup and honey, all of the latter I realize are not Keto; sadly.
Maybe someday I’ll be healed enough to tolerate swerve and other alternate sweeteners. Thanks for the eye candy.
Jan says
I am wondering if I can use strained whole milk yogurt (IP recipe) instead of heavy cream? I am lactose intolerant so I want to avoid dairy. These look so good!!
Carolyn says
Sure, I can’t see why not! Use coconut milk too, if you prefer.
Erica says
Vanilla scones were my favorite Starbucks confection, and these copycats are fantastic! It’s been years since I’ve had one from Starbucks, but I do think these are so close to the original: less biscuit-like and slightly more bready than standard scones, and perfectly simple in flavor. My husband and I really enjoyed them. Highly recommended. Thanks Carolyn!