Double Dark Chocolate Scones
To skip the post and step-by-step instructions and go straight to recipe, click here.So. Here’s the thing about scones. I have friends who absolutely adore them, and friends who think that they’re trash food. But to the latter, I have to say, “Hey. Maybe you just haven’t had a good scone?” Because that’s almost always the case. These aren’t the dry, crumbly hunks of pastry they may have been served in the past. These are buttery, these are rich, these aren’t super sweet, and these are gooood.
I have nothing against a cafe using pre-made scones, as they can taste decent enough, and you know you’re getting a consistent product - I understand. But, it always confused me when I worked in the restaurant industry how places with the most stunning hand-made baked goods often all sold the same. Exact. Scones. Was it because they thought scones were overlooked, and people didn’t care about them? Was it cheaper? I couldn’t say. But I can tell you one thing - if you’re tired of every bakery selling the same pre-made scones too, give these a try. You’ll be getting your coffee to-go and having your breakfast at home next time.
Now, these dark chocolate scones are a pretty far cry from the dainty little rounds you’d find at an English garden party, and the amount of melty chocolate chunks and sugar glaze just scream “American”. However, you know what? They taste damn good. And, with the world in the state that it is in 2020, I think we could all use some chocolate for breakfast (though I would happily eat these for dessert and midnight snacks, too).
Step-By-Step Walk-through:
If you’re feeling confident in your cooking skills and want to skip the walk-through, click here.
Step 1:
Preheat the Oven
Turn the oven on to 425 degrees fahrenheit.
Step 2:
Measure your Ingredients
Measure out all of your ingredients to make sure nothing gets missed. First, you’ll need 1 ¾ cups of all-purpose white flour. Spoon your flour into your measuring cup and level off with a flat knife.
Next, ¼ cup dark cocoa powder. Scoop the cocoa up with the measuring cup, and level it off with a flat knife as well.
Then, 2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder. If your baking powder container doesn’t have a leveler like this one, use a knife to level that as well.
Then, ½ teaspoon of coarse sea salt. If you only have regular table salt, this can be substituted. I only personally prefer coarse salt because I like the slight bursts of saltiness you get within the bites if the salt is bigger.
Following that, ¼ cup of granulated white sugar.
Next, 6 tablespoons of cold salted butter. If you only have unsalted butter, just add an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt to the recipe. For the butter, cut it into slices about ½ tablespoon each (most butter wrappers will show the measurements on the side of the stick).
Measure ¾ cup of heavy whipping cream, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, ½ cup of semisweet or dark chocolate chips (dark chocolate chips will be more bitter, but I prefer semisweet for these scones because I think it goes nicely with the coarse salt), and set out 1 egg.
Step 3:
Combine Dry Ingredients
Add the flour, cocoa, and baking powder to a sifter or fine mesh strainer like mine, and place over a large bowl. Sift the ingredients through. If you have a couple small chunks at the bottom of the sifter, use a spoon to smash them up until they go through.
Then, stir in the sugar and the sea salt with a large spoon.
Step 4:
Blend in the Butter
Add the butter to the dry ingredients. Using your hands, break up the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients until you have a mixture that resembles bread crumbs, and no butter chunks larger than a pea.
Make a well in the center of the mixture with a spoon.
Step 5:
Add The Wet Ingredients
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the cream, egg, and vanilla until homogenous.
Pour into the well in the dry ingredient and butter mixture, along with the chocolate chips.
Step 6:
Mix Dough
Mix together everything with a large spoon until just combined and starting to come together into a rough dough (it will appear dry at first, but it will come together soon).
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a couple times to finish bringing it together.
Split the dough in half, and form it into two discs, each about 1 inch tall.
Step 7:
Cut Scones
Using either a bench scraper or a large chef’s knife, cut each disc into 6 even triangles, as you might a pie or pizza.
Step 8:
Bake
Place the triangles at least an inch apart on a large baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. If you don’t have a baking sheet big enough, split onto two lined baking sheets.
Bake the scones in your preheated oven for 10-13 minutes. If they’re all on one pan, bake on a middle shelf. If you used 2 pans, place one on a higher shelf and one on a lower shelf and switch them halfway through the baking process (after about 5 or 6 minutes). When they are finished baking, they will be soft yet firm to the touch, but no longer squishy. When you look in the cracks on the top of the scone, it should no longer look wet.
Remove the scones from the baking sheet and place them on a wire rack to cool off for 20-30 minutes before glazing.
Step 9:
Glaze
For the glaze, whisk together ¾ cup powdered sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of cool water in a medium bowl until smooth.
Pour the glaze onto a plate or a shallow bowl for dipping.
When the scones are cool, very gently dip the tops of the scones into the glaze. If you go too quickly, the tops of the soft scones could break off into the glaze, so be gentle. Or, if you prefer, you can use a spoon or fork to drizzle the glaze on.
Let the scones sit on the drying rack for 5 to 10 more minutes to allow the glaze to set. Then, enjoy! These can also be kept in a food storage container in a cool, dry place for up to 3 days, but are definitely better the fresher you eat them. I recommend dunking in hot coffee, mint tea, or cold milk.
Double Dark Chocolate Scones
Servings: 12 Time: 60-90 minutes
Difficulty: 🧡🧡🤍🤍🤍
Ingredients
FOR SCONES:
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup dark cocoa powder
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. coarse sea salt
¼ cup granulated sugar
6 TBS. cold salted butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
½ tsp. Vanilla extract
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
FOR GLAZE:
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 TBS. cool water
Directions
Step 1: Preheat the oven
Turn on the oven to 425 degrees.
Step 2: Measure Your Ingredients
Measure and prepare all of the scone ingredients.
Step 3: Combine Dry Ingredients
Using a sifter or fine mesh strainer, sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and sea salt.
Step 4: Blend in the Butter
Add the butter to the dry ingredients. Using your hands, massage the butter into the dry ingredients until only a few pea-sized pieces of butter remain, and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center of the mixture with a spoon.
Step 5: Combine Wet Ingredients
Whisk together the egg, cream, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour into the well in the dry ingredient mixture along with the chocolate chips.
Set 6: Mix Dough
Mix together the wet and dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until just combined into a rough dough (it will appear dry at first). Dump onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead to bring the dough together. Split the dough in half and form into 2 discs, each about 1 inch tall.
Step 7: Cut Scones
Using a bench scraper or large chef’s knife, cut each disc into 6 even triangles, as you might a pie or pizza.
Step 8: Bake
Place the triangles at least an inch apart on a large baking pan lined with parchment paper. Place on a middle shelf of your preheated oven and bake for 10-13 minutes, until firm yet soft to the touch, but no longer squishy. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack for 20-30 minutes.
Step 9: Glaze
For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and water in a medium bowl until smooth. Pour glaze onto a plate or shallow bowl. When the scones are cool, very gently dip the tops of the scones into the glaze, being sure not to go too quickly or the tops of the scones could come off. Or, if desired, you can dip a spoon or fork into the glaze and drizzle it on the scones. Place each scone back onto the drying rack after dipping to set. Allow 5-10 minutes for the glaze to harden, then enjoy. Can be kept in a food storage container in a cool dry place up to 3 days, but are definitely better the fresher you eat them. I recommend dunking in hot coffee, mint tea, or cold milk.