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These easy chocolate chip scones are the British version of a biscuit, making them slightly sweet and buttery with a crumbly edge. If you are craving chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, these scones are for you.
Scones are basically biscuits, with a little bit of sugar. If you compare them to my flaky buttermilk biscuits, you’ll see the similarities.
If you’ve never made homemade scones, you’d be surprised just how easy they are to make. You simply whisk together some dry ingredients before mixing in some buttermilk and the shaping into a disc. Just cut to size and then bake. It really isn’t too complicated.
Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best however and this scone recipe is no different. The flaky layers just melt in your mouth and chocolate of course makes everything better.
So if you want to whip up something quick and easy for breakfast to go with a nice cup of coffee, consider trying these easy scones.
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Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour – can also use whole wheat flour.
- Granulated sugar – adds sweetness. Can also use raw cane sugar.
- Baking powder/soda – helps the homemade scones rise.
- Salt – enhances the flavor.
- Unsalted butter – creates the flaky crust you expect.
- Dark chocolate chips – any type of chocolate chip will do but I like dark chocolate for these.
- Buttermilk – the acidity reacts with the leaveners and creates a nice rise.
- Vanilla extract – enhances the flavor.
How to Make Scones
- Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Grate the cold butter using a cheese grater. With a knife, blend the butter in with the flour. The mixture should look crumbly. Mix in the chocolate chips at this point.
- Whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla in a cup and then add to the flour mixture and mix until JUST incorporated. It is important to not over mix or you will have dense scones.
- With a little flour on a clean surface, knead the dough for about a minute. Shape into a circle that is about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut the circle in half and then each half into 4-5 wedges. It just depends on how large you like your homemade scones.
- Put the scone wedges on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops of each with buttermilk and then lightly sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes until tops are golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Are Scones and Biscuits the Same?
Yes and no. Scones are the British biscuits and generally have eggs in them, where biscuits do not. However I’ve “Americanized” these homemade scones and taken the egg out which gives you a light, flaky texture.
Homemade Buttermilk
If you don’t have buttermilk you can easily make it at home. Simply add 1 tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes and it’s ready.
The Key to Light and Flaky Scones
As with anything that you bake, you do not want to overwork the dough. Use a pastry cutter or knives to get the cold butter into small crumbs. You then use your hands to shape and pat the dough into a disc. Yes your hands will get messy, but the end product is worth it.
How to Freeze Scones
You can either freeze the scones with chocolate chips before baking or after baking.
- Freeze Before Baking: Cut the scone dough into wedges than place on baking sheet and freeze for 1 hour. Once frozen, you can layer them into a bag or container. To bake from frozen, just add a few minutes to the bake time or thaw overnight and bake as directed.
- Freeze After Baking: Place the baked and cooled scones on a sheet and the freeze for at least 1 hour. You can then layer them into a bag or container. Thaw on the counter or overnight in the fridge. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet at 300°F for 10 minutes.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- You may not realize this but baking powder/baking soda actually expires pretty quickly. Use baking powder that is less than a year old since it has been opened. If you use older baking powder, it won’t be powerful enough to help leaven the scones. You can test it by stirring half a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use. Baking soda should be less than six months old and you can use the same test.
- Use cold or even frozen butter. The cold butter coats the flour which creates crumbs that melt and steam, thus creating that flakiness you expect in scones.
- Do not overwork the dough. Mix everything until just combined or you will have tough scones.
- Leftover scones will keep at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for 5 days.
Other Breakfast Recipes
- Homemade Bagels
- Hash Brown Egg Muffins
- Butternut Squash Bread
- Mini Ham and Cheese Quiche
- Savory Dutch Baby
If you’ve tried these chocolate chip scones or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I’m up to.
Chocolate Chip Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- Grate the cold butter using a cheese grater. This is an easy way to get it into small pieces to incorporate in the dry ingredients. If you do not have a cheese grater, you can just cut into small cubes. Blend the grated butter in with the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or 2 knives. The mixture should be clumpy and look like course crumbs. Mix in the chocolate chips.
- In a small measuring cup, mix together the buttermilk and vanilla. Mix into the flour mixture until JUST incorporated. DO NOT over mix, this will make the scones too dense.
- Put a small amount of flour onto a clean surface and knead the dough briefly. Shape the dough into a circle that is about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut the circle in half and then each half into 4-5 wedges (depending on how big you want your scones).
- Put the wedges on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Brush the tops with a little bit of milk and then lightly sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes until tops are golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- You may not realize this but baking powder/baking soda actually expires pretty quickly. Use baking powder that is less than a year old since it has been opened. If you use older baking powder, it won’t be powerful enough to help leaven the scones. You can test it by stirring half a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use. Baking soda should be less than six months old and you can use the same test.
- Use cold or even frozen butter. The cold butter coats the flour which creates crumbs that melt and steam, thus creating that flakiness you expect in scones.
- Do not overwork the dough. Mix everything until just combined or you will have tough scones.
- Leftover scones will keep at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for 5 days.
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