Julie Clark
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Chocolate Chip Scones
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The perfect soft scone with chocolate drizzle. Loaded Chocolate Chip Scones are an easy scone recipe…ready in 30 minutes!
Yeast breads are often the first thing I turn to when I think “breakfast bread”. The problem is I don’t always plan enough time to allow dough to knead and rise when the craving hits.
Scones can quickly come to the rescue when you need a quick breakfast that doesn’t take a lot of work.
Aren’t scones the same as biscuits?
Our homemade biscuits are very similar to our scones. Both are loaded with butter and buttermilk. Both use the same method of mixing in the butter and being careful not to overmix. Both are tender and will melt in your mouth with the flakiness.
The difference comes in that American biscuits are often served with savory foods and scones generally have more sugar in them and are often served with fruit or even have fruit baked inside (like cherry scones).
Soft Fluffy Scones
If there’s one thing we don’t tolerate, it’s dry baked goods (our heavy cream doused sweet rolls prove that one). We set out to make the best scone recipe. An easy scone recipe that is soft and tender.
Our two secret ingredients for this? Butter and buttermilk. And our mixing technique is important too: Use cold ingredients and don’t overmix. Let’s walk through step by step how to make scones.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Scones
They key to soft, buttery scones is the butter. You don’t want it fully mixed in. You want little “chunks” of butter that will melt as the scones bake, leaving layered pockets of fluffiness. That’s how you get fluffy scones.
For that reason, it’s important to plan ahead about 10 minutes when you want to make scones. Refrigerate a metal bowl for minimum 5 minutes before starting the scones. This will help keep ingredients cold.
Also, preheat the oven in advance so as soon as you are done mixing the scones, you can pop them right into the hot oven.
- In the refrigerated bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, sugar and salt.
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add to the flour mixture. You can even use a cheese grater to grate the very cold butter into thin threads so that they are easy to cut in.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter in with the flour mixture until the butter is mostly mixed in. It is okay if there are small pieces of butter. Feel the flour mixture with your fingers and “snap” any large chunks of butter between your fingers to make them smaller.
- Make a well in the flour in the center of the bowl. Add the beaten egg and buttermilk to the well. *Make sure you take the time to whisk the egg before adding it to the dry ingredients. This prevents you from having to overmix the dough.*
- Using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix just until blended, being careful not to overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Sprinkle about ¼ cup of flour on the cupboard. Turn the dough out onto the floured counter. Turn the dough over again over so the floured side is up.
- Shape a disk that is about 1 ¼ inches thick. The disk will be about 10″ in diameter. Use a knife to cut the disk into 8 triangles, as if you were cutting a pie. Don’t saw back and forth with the knife. Just cut down, then pull back up. This will help your scones rise nicely.
- Place the scones on a greased cookie sheet or a nonstick baking mat.
- Bake immediately for 12 minutes. Allow the scones to cool for 3-5 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Drizzle
Now you can leave the scones as is, but we recommend melting dark chocolate and drizzling the scones. The look beautiful like this, and no one ever turns up their nose at extra chocolate!
While the chocolate is still wet, we sprinkle additional chocolate chips and some raw coarse sugar on top. These two things are optional. You could also sprinkle nuts or even holiday sprinkles on top if you’d like.
How to Store Scones
Because this recipe only makes 8 scones, we often don’t find ourselves with many leftovers. If you do, you’ll want to store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Chocolate Chip Scones
The perfect soft scone with chocolate drizzle. Loaded Chocolate Chip Scones are an easy scone recipe…ready in 30 minutes!
Servings 8
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Ingredients
For the scones:
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (plus ¼ cup for flouring the counter)
- 1 rounded teaspoon baking soda
- 2 rounded teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- dash salt
- 1/2 cup cold salted butter (plus an additional 1 tablespoon)
- 1 large beaten egg
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
For the drizzle:
- 4 ounces dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
- 2 tablespoons coarse raw sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Refrigerate a metal bowl for 5 minutes to get it cold. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- In the refrigerated bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, sugar and salt.
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes (or use a cheese grater and grate the cold butter) and add to the flour mixture.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter in with the flour mixture until the butter is mostly mixed in. It is okay if there are small pieces of butter. Feel the flour mixture with your fingers and "snap" any large chunks of butter between your fingers to make them smaller.
- Make a well in the flour in the center of the bowl. Add the beaten egg and buttermilk to the well.
- Using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix just until blended, being careful not to overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Sprinkle about ¼ cup of flour on the cupboard. Turn the dough out onto the floured counter. Turn the dough over again over so the floured side is up.
- Shape a disk that is about 1 ¼ inches thick. Use a knife to cut the disk into 8 triangles, as if you were cutting a pie.
- Place the scones on a greased cookie sheet or a nonstick baking mat.
- Bake immediately for 12 minutes. Allow the scones to cool for 3-5 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Stir and continue to melt in 10 second increments until the chocolate is fully melted.
- Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the scones. Immediately top with mini chocolate chips and/or coarse sugar.
- Allow the chocolate to set, then store in an airtight container.
Notes
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 8 scones, with 1 serving being 1 drizzled scone. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 455kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 168mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 480IU | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 2mg
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you freeze scones?
Yes, scones freeze well. Place them in a zippered plastic bag, then wrap again in another bag or place the first bag in an airtight container. When you are ready to defrost them, allow them to come to room temperature before opening the package.
Can you freeze scone dough?
Yes! Freeze the scones after you cut them into triangles before baking. Then freeze individually. When you are ready to bake them, remove them from the freezer and place them on a baking sheet to slightly defrost while the oven is preheating. They don’t have to be totally unfrozen before you bake them. You may need to add a minute or two to the baking time if they are partially frozen.
Can you refrigerate scone dough overnight?
These scones should be just fine to refrigerate overnight before baking. We put a piece of plastic wrap loosely over the top so they don’t dry out.
How do you reheat scones?
You can reheat scones in a 300º Fahrenheit oven for about 5 minutes. It is often easier just to microwave scones. We microwave our room temperature scones for 15-20 seconds, but the exact time will depend on the strength of your microwave.
Can I use regular size chocolate chips?
Yes you can, but we prefer mini chocolate chips so there is chocolate in every bite.
Yes!