Chocolate Chip Scones
This chocolate chip scones recipe will make your morning! Super easy to make and they bake up so moist & chocolate-y!
If calories didn’t exist, I’d be eating a chocolate chip scone for breakfast every day with my coffee.
Scones are my favorite kind of breakfast treat! And I’ve got lots of scone recipes to prove it. See also my orange cranberry scones, pumpkin scones, and lemon blueberry scones, just to name a few!
I love how buttery and tender these bake up, and they’re very moist!
And oh… chocolate! I absolutely adore the combination of rich pastry, deep, dark chocolate, and roasty-toasty coffee. And I think you will too!
What are scones?
Scones are actually a type of quick bread. So named not only because they are quick and easy to make, but also because they’re made with baking powder instead of yeast. So you don’t have to wait around for them to rise!
This recipe comes together in just a few minutes.
It’s made by first combining all the dry ingredients, then adding in the butter and liquids. This forms a stiff dough that can be shaped and then baked until golden and delicious.
The end result is cakey but a little crumbly, buttery, moist, and rich, with loads of chocolate in every scrumptious bite!
Chocolate chip scones ingredients
You’ll only need a handful of basic pantry staples for this recipe.
Here’s a quick rundown, with ideas for substitutions:
Flour:
All-purpose flour is my go-to, but you can swap it out for any kind of whole-grain option if you like. You may need slightly less if you go that route.
A gluten-free flour blend that can sub 1:1 for regular flour should also work just fine, if you’d like to make gluten-free chocolate chip scones.
Sugar:
Sugar adds sweetness (obvs!) but it also aids in browning and keeps things moist, since it’s hydrophilic (this means it loves water, in other words, it draws moisture in).
Regular white sugar is fine, or sub for another type of sweetener if you like. As long as it swaps 1:1 for granulated sugar it should work just fine.
Baking Powder:
This chocolate chip scone recipe utilizes baking powder to leaven (or “lift”) the scones.
Baking powder is a double-acting leavener, so it starts the pastry rising both when liquid is added to it, as well as when it hits the hot oven.
I would not recommend subbing baking soda. It will not work as well in this recipe because there isn’t anything acidic to activate it.
Baking powder has a little bit of that acid built in.
Salt:
Salt carries the flavors and intensifies them. The end result won’t taste salty, but it will make everything so much more flavorful!
I like kosher salt best because it doesn’t have any additives (table salt usually contains iodine and that can leave a bitter taste), so the flavor is pure, and it’s very inexpensive and easy to find.
Butter:
I like to use unsalted butter because it lets me control the amount of salt in the dish. Different brands of butter contain different amounts of salt, so this way you get a more consistent result.
For a vegan or dairy free chocolate chip scones recipe, use a plant-based butter that can substitute for dairy butter 1:1.
This recipe works best if you use cold butter. When cold pastry hits the hot oven, steam is released and that puffs up the pastry, creating a beautifully light, airy texture.
Chocolate Chips:
I like mini chocolate chips for this recipe, because they disperse throughout the scones in the most delicious way! You get so much chocolate in every bite.
But regular chocolate chips will work fine too, if that’s all you have on hand.
- White Chocolate Chips
- Butterscotch Chips
- Peanut Butter Chips
- Cinnamon Chips
- Caramel chips
- Rainbow Chips
- Mint Chips
- Lemon Chips
Or even use fruit or nuts instead.
Heavy Cream:
Cream moistens the dough and adds a rich flavor. There are certain flavor compounds that are only carried by fats, so higher fat foods like cream will really intensify the flavors of everything you make.
Be sure to use cold cream and not melted butter. Pastries such as this one should be kept cold as much as possible, until they go into the oven.
How to make chocolate chip scones
Lets break it all down into 3 steps:
- Making the dough
- Shaping the scones
- Baking the scones
How to make chocolate chip scone dough
To make this easy chocolate chip scone recipe, start by placing the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Give everything a quick stir just to get it combined.
You could also do this in a stand mixer on low speed.
Next, add the cold butter. I like to cut it into cubes first, so it’s a little easier to blend in.
Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles oatmeal. There should be lots of very small pieces of cold butter, coated in the dry mixture.
I like to do this with a pastry blender, but if you can also do this step with a mixer on low speed. You could even use two knives, or just your fingers (as long as you work fast and don’t let the heat of your hands warm up the butter too much).
Finally, add the chocolate chips and cold cream to the bowl.
Stir it all together to make a very stiff dough.
At first, the dough will seem very dry and crumbly. But notice, if you squeeze a little of it in your hand, it does hold together.
How to shape chocolate chip scones
To shape the scones, start by gathering the dough up and pressing it into a big clump.
Then divide it in half.
Press each half into a disc shape, about 1 1/2-inches thick.
Then cut each disc into 6 triangles.
The tool you see me using here is called a bench knife or a bench scraper. I love mine! It cuts cleanly and makes cleaning your work surface a breeze!
Place the unbaked scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet, allowing about 1/4-inch of space between each one so they can expand a little bit.
Pro tip: At this point, the dough is probably warming up and becoming soft. So I recommend popping the unbaked scones into the freezer for a few minutes, while the oven preheats.
How to bake chocolate chip scones
Once the oven is up to temp, slide in your scones, and allow them to bake until puffy and just beginning to turn golden on the bottoms.
Be careful not to overbake them! If you do they could come out dry.
Once they’re baked and slightly cooled, drizzle them with a little melted chocolate to make them extra pretty.
This step is completely optional! The scones will still taste fabulous, even if you don’t drizzle them!
How to serve this chocolate chip scone recipe
There is nothing like a freshly baked scone, still warm from the oven!
But they are still so good at room temperature.
I like them just as is, but you could spread them with some soft butter, or top them with a little strawberry jam or orange marmalade.
Whipped cream would also be a treat! This is how Irish scones are often served.
A chocolate chip scone and a cup of coffee, tea or cocoa is all I really need. But these would go great on a breakfast or brunch buffet, along with a breakfast casserole, some fresh fruit or salad, and a selection of juices or yogurt.
Can these be made ahead?
You can definitely make this chocolate chip scones recipe ahead, although I’d recommend baking them as soon as the dough is made.
It’s not a good idea to keep raw scone dough hanging around too long, because the baking powder starts working as soon as liquid hits it. You want to utilize that rise as soon as it’s happening! If you wait it will poof up and then deflate.
So go ahead and bake them!
They’ll last for several days in an airtight container at room temperature, and for well over a week in the fridge.
You can also freeze them! You’ll get several months out of them if you wrap them up nice and tight.
Thaw them at room temp and reheat in the microwave for about 10 seconds or in a 170 degree F oven until warmed through.
A few more of my favorite breakfast recipes
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Chocolate Chip Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (6 g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, cold
- 10 ounces (283.5 g) mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (119 g) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1 ounce (28.35 g) melted chocolate, approx. (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Cube the butter and cut it into the dry mixture until only very small pieces remain (it should look almost like oatmeal).
- Stir in the mini chocolate chips and the heavy cream (mixture will look very crumbly but should hold together when squeezed).
- Press the dough into a ball and divide it in half.
- Flatten each portion of dough into a disc shape, about 1 1/2-inches thick.
- Score each disc into 6 triangles with a knife, and pull the triangles slightly away from one another (allowing about 1/4-inch in between).
- Bake the scones for 18 to 22 minutes, or until set in the centers and slightly golden on the bottoms.
- Drizzle with melted chocolate for garnish, if desired.
