These chocolate chip scones are flakey and buttery, perfect for a lazy brunch or sweet snack. Serve them plain or slather with salted butter.
Have you ever made homemade scones? I love them because they’re straightforward compared to many baked goods! No special equipment is required, and they don’t take much time at all. The ingredients are all pretty essential (you might even have them all in your pantry and fridge as we speak.) What’s not to love?
How to Make Chocolate Chip Scones
For the best results, you want to start with cold ingredients. This results in flakier scones. Some bakers even recommend chilling the flour and/or the mixing bowl, but I don’t usually go that far. Cold butter and cold cream should do the job.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, then use a pastry blender, fork, or clean fingers to incorporate the butter until it resembles coarse cornmeal with a few larger pieces here and there. Next, stir in the chocolate chips.
Stir in the cream, mixing until the ingredients are just combined (check the bottom of the bowl for sneaky dry patches). The dough should be dry but workable, and sometimes the consistency will vary depend on how much the butter was broken down. The less you mix the ingredients at this point, the better.
If the dough is sticking to your fingers and difficult to work with, you can add another tablespoon of flour. If the dough is dry to the point where you can’t incorporate all of the dry ingredients, you can briefly knead it. This will warm up the butter slightly and help the dry ingredients incorporate. But try to do this as little as possible for best results.
Divide the dough in half evenly, then shape it into two round discs that are around 7 inches in diameter each (check out the photo below; you can see by the cracks around the edges that the dough is dry. This is normal).
Divide each disc into six wedges. If you have a bench scraper, this is the best tool for quickly completing the job.
Brush the tops with melted butter, then bake for 10-12 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and your kitchen smells fantastic. Let the scones cool for at least 10 minutes before serving them. They’re great, either warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
You can substitute buttermilk for the heavy cream in this recipe. You can also use my recipe for homemade buttermilk substitute, which uses whole milk and lemon juice or vinegar. Use what you have.
You can get creative and swap out the chocolate chips here. Try white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, etc.
More Scones Recipes
If you love this recipe, check out my Cranberry Orange Scones, Cardamom Cinnamon Sugar Muffins, and Cranberry Goat Cheese Scones.
You can also see my full archive of brunch recipes here!
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Chocolate Chip Scones
These chocolate chip scones are flakey, buttery, and perfect for a lazy brunch or sweet snack. Serve them plain or slather with salted butter.
Servings 12 scones
Calories 392
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
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Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture and use a pastry blender or your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few larger pieces. Stir in the chocolate chips until they are evenly coated with flour.
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Add the heavy cream to the bowl, mixing the ingredients until just combined. The mixture should be fairly dry. If the dough sticks to your fingers, combine in an additional 1-2 tablespoons of flour until the dough is no longer sticky. If the dough is so dry that you can’t incorporate most of the flour, try very briefly kneading it to warm up the butter just slightly (keep in mind that the less you work the dough, the flakier the scones will be).
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Divide the dough in half and flatten into two round discs, about 7 inches in diameter. Cut each disc into 6 pieces. If you had to knead the dough at all, chill the scones for 10 minutes to firm the butter back up.
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Brush melted butter on top of each piece, then bake for 10-12 minutes, until both the tops and bottoms are golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
You can substitute buttermilk for the heavy cream.
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Serving: 1scone | Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 264mg | Potassium: 256mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 647IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 111mg | Iron: 2mg
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