Chocolate Chips Scones Recipe (Cookie Scones)

Soft, rich and buttery, these melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chips cookie scones are made for the days you just can’t decide. Have it along with a glass of milk for a perfect breakfast treat!

What is the secret to making good scones?

I have some tips for baking bakery-quality scones:

• Before adding the butter, you need to mix well all dry ingredients;
• Scones need to be cold when they reach the oven;
• The oven needs to be properly hot;
• Scones need to be baked on middle shelf;
• Don’t overmix the dough;

But the secret to make the best ever scone – and that works for all scones recipes – is working with cold ingredients. For this recipe, make sure egg, sour and heavy cream are cold, and cube and freeze butter for 30 minutes to an hour before putting the dough together.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour. All-purpose white flour is what works for this recipe. Don’t use bread flour and avoid using whole wheat flour for this recipe.

Milk powder. It gives these scones an even richer taste! If you don’t have/wish to skip milk powder, substitute it for the same amount of all-purpose flour. You can use skimmed milk powder or whole milk powder.

Sugar. White granulate sugar or caster sugar is what works best for this recipe.

Baking powder. It’s the main leavening agent of this recipe. Don’t forget to add it, and don’t try to replace it for baking soda. Always check expiration date before using baking powder.

Salt. Fine sea salt is what works best for this recipe.

Butter. Prefer to use unsalted butter for this recipe. If using salted butter, add only a pinch of salt. Always use it cold.

Egg. Egg is also a leavening agent. Scones made with eggs are lighter than the ones made without the ingredient. It also gives you a richer scone. If you want a denser scone, omit the egg, replacing it for about 3 tbsp of sour/heavy cream mixture. Whenever possible, prefer to use organic, cage-free eggs. Use it cold.

Vanilla extract. You can substitute for a third of a vanilla bean seeds if desired.

Sour cream. I don’t have any substitute for sour cream for this specific recipe. If you don’t have sour cream available, you can make your own! Mix 1/2 cup of heavy/whipping cream, 1 teaspoon of lemon/lime juice, and 2 tablespoons of milk, mix and let it resting for 24 hours before using. Always use it cold.

Heavy cream. Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) contains 36% or more milk fat. Whipping cream is lighter and contains 30% to 35% milk fat. You can use any of these 2 for this scones recipe. Always use this ingredient cold.

Chocolate chips. I like to use semisweet chocolate chips for this recipe, but feel free to use sweet chocolate chips, and even white chocolate chips. You can mix both semisweet chocolate and white chocolate for a good sweet balance.

How to make it

Making scones is not exactly difficult, but you have to follow all steps in order to get an amazing baking good at the end.

Freeze butter. Start by cubing (or grating) and freezing butter for at least 30 minutes before starting to put the dough together.

Mix ingredients. Using a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients until well combined. In a medium bowl, mix both creams until you get a mixture free of lumps. In a small bowl, mix egg and vanilla extract.

Add butter. Add frozen butter to the dry ingredients and mix using a fork, a pastry cutter or your hands. The mixture should come together in pea-size crumbs.

Add liquids. Add egg mixture and mix until combined, then add half the sour/heavy cream mixture, mixing until incorporated. If dough is still crumbly, add the remaining cream mixture. Mix only until dough comes together.

Add chocolate chips. Knead only until they’re incorporated by dough. Remember: avoid overworking the dough.

Divide and shape scones. Place dough into a clean and floured surface. Lightly knead dough into a disc, at least 1 inch tall. Flip the disc once, then cut it into 8 equal pieces. See the recipe video for more visual instructions. Place shaped scones into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them about 1.5 to 2 inches apart.

Bake. Freeze shaped scones for 30 minutes while preheating over to 400°F, middle rack. Bake for 20 minutes (bigger scones) on 400°F, or until golden brown on top.

Can I make mini chocolate chip scones with this recipe?

I love making mini chocolate chip scones, and this recipe is good for both large and mini scones.

For mini scones, divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Lightly knead each piece of dough into a disc of at least 1 inch tall. Flip the disc once, then cut each one into 8 equal pieces.

Place shaped scones into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them about 1.5 inches apart. Bake them for about 15 minutes, on 400°F, preheated oven.

With this recipe you’ll get 16 delicious mini chocolate chip scones.

Tips for success

• Different brands of flour absorb different amounts of liquid, so you may not need all the sour/heavy cream mix for the recipe. Start by mixing half of it to the dough and add the other half if dough is still too crumbly.

• If you added the whole sour/heavy cream mixture at once and the dough is too wet and sticky, add 3 tbsp more of flour.

• It’s important to avoid overworking the dough as much as possible! The less mixing you do, the softer the scones will be.

• As said before, use frozen butter. You can grate it, you can cut into really small cubes, but make sure butter is extra cold. Cold butter helps a lot with scones final texture.

Why are my scones heavy?

Do your scones have a heavy, dense texture and lack volume?

Check if you made one of these 3 mistakes:

• Did you measure correctly the baking powder? Did you check its expiration date?
• Have you overworked the dough before baking?
• Did you preheat the oven for at least 15 minutes?

Kneading too much the dough, using expired baking powder or placing scones in a cool oven will affect the texture of these chocolate chip scones.

Can I make the dough the night before?

If you’re wondering if these chocolate chip scones can be made overnight, the answer is yes.

Make the dough, shape it and place the unbaked scones back in the fridge, covered.

Next morning, preheat oven for 20 minutes at 400°F. Bake scones for about 15 minutes if baking smaller scones, 20 minutes if baking big scones.

Storing and freezing

Scones usually are at their best the day they’re made, specially just after baking. After cooling, store leftovers in an airtight container. They’re good for 3 to 4 days.

For freezing, you have 2 options:

Freezing before baking: shape and cut scones, place them in a baking sheet and freeze for 1 hour. After that, place scones in a freezer safe bag, seal it and put back in the freezer. Bake them frozen, 14 to 17 minutes.

Freezing after baking: once cooled, place scones in a freezer safe bag, seal and store in the freezer. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds, or bake them at 300°F for 8 to 10 minutes.

More Baking Goods

White Chocolate Blackberry Scones
Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Double-chocolate Almond Cookies