Chocolate chip scones, small batch style. Recipe for cream scones that makes just 4 perfect flaky scones studded with chocolate chips.
Bakery-style Chocolate Chip Scone Recipe
I consider myself famous for my scones (in my own mind, anyway), and you guys are asking for more variations.
My quest for a great scone recipe starts with a desire for a breakfast pastry without as much sugar as a muffin. I love a great muffin, especially my coffee cake muffins, one-bowl chocolate banana muffins, and my gingerbread muffins that are not just for the holidays!
However, I usually find myself eating muffins for a dessert rather than a breakfast. It's not that I'm Saintly and avoid sugar in the mornings--it's that my tea has enough honey to cover my sugar bases first thing in the morning. So, a slightly-less-sweet scone for breakfast sounds perfect to me.
Chocolate Chip Scone Recipe ingredients
- Flour. One and a quarter cups of all-purpose flour that has been fluffed and scooped into measuring cups before being leveled off.
- Sugar. Scones are lightly sweet, so this recipe only requires ¼ cup of granulated sugar.
- Salt. I prefer to bake with fine sea salt.
- Baking Soda. We need ¼ teaspoon of baking soda.
- Baking Powder. One full teaspoon of baking powder. Make sure it’s fresh and not expired.
- Butter. Four tablespoons, or half a stick of unsalted butter that is still cold, straight from the fridge.
- Heavy Cream. One-third cup of heavy cream plus two tablespoons for the scone dough. I also like to have extra heavy cream for brushing on them before baking.
- Egg Yolk. One large egg yolk only; reserve the egg white for another recipe.
- Chocolate Chips. You can use semisweet, milk or dark chocolate chips.
Easy Chocolate Chip Scones recipe substitutions and additions
Fun additions:
- 1 teaspoon of orange zest
- ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- or a powdered sugar glaze drizzled on top (½ cup powdered sugar with a splash of milk)
How to make Chocolate Chip Scones
I make my scones the right way--with all heavy cream. Honestly, this is the way your favorite bakery makes them, too. I do not trust recipes for scones that don't use all heavy cream. Cream makes scones tender, soft and delicious. Plus, we're just making a small batch of 4 scones, so these are an occasional treat.
- Every good scone should be flaky, and what makes them flaky is the biscuit-method. If you've ever made biscuits, you know that the butter must be worked into the flour until it is the size of small pieces. If you want to try your hand at biscuits for the first time, try my small batch biscuits!
- The method of working butter into the flour with a pastry blender, two butter knives, or even your fingers makes scones flaky and puffy in the oven. When the hot oven air hits the butter pieces, the water in the butter evaporates and creates steam, which leaves behind a flaky air pocket.
- Scones are truly a thing of beauty, and I love that my recipe is all made in one bowl. This recipe is similar to my Lemon Scones, but today, we're using chocolate chips!
4. If you're up for it, these chocolate chip scones are great with the zest of 1 orange stirred in. Then, use the juice of half an orange to make a powdered sugar glaze, if you wish!
As for me, the way the chocolate chips come out of the oven in melty pools of chocolate surrounded by flaky pastry is enough. But, chase your orange-chocolate dreams if you feel like it!
If you're up for interesting flavor combos in your scones, my black pepper maple scones are your new weekend baking venture; I know you'll love them!
Secrets for a bakery-style Chocolate Chip Scone
Since the smallest container of cream we can usually buy is a half-pint, we're brushing extra cream on top of the scones before baking. Then, we will sprinkle them very generously with coarse sugar. Coarse Turbinado sugar gives the scones extra crunch on top, and is a little bakery secret.
This recipe uses just one egg yolk; check my recipes that use extra egg whites to use up the leftovers.
Chocolate Chip Scones easy recipe storage
Scones keep at room temperature for about 2 days. They lose their crispness on the edges, but they be rewarmed in the oven on 200-degrees F. They can be frozen after baking, too. Simply defrost in the fridge overnight and heat in the toaster oven until warm throughout.
Chocolate Chip Scones Recipe FAQs
What makes scones different from biscuits?
Biscuits are airy, fluffy and flaky squares (or circles) made without any sugar. They are savory and tender throughout. Scones are dense, crumbly cake-like treats. They contain sugar and other sweet additions (like chocolate chips and dried fruit), because their dough is sturdy enough to handle additions.
Are scones supposed to be hard or soft?
In my scone loving opinion, a great scone is hard (read: crispy) on the outside, but tender and flaky when cut open.
Is biscuit dough the same as scone dough?
No, scone dough contains heavy cream and eggs, which is more moisture than a biscuit dough. Scone dough is dense enough to hold chocolate chips and dried fruit, while biscuit dough is too light and airy.
I hope you love this recipe for chocolate chip scones. I can think of so many more instances where I need only a small batch of scones rather than a large one, can't you? If a scone recipe only makes 4 scones, I'm more likely to make them more frequently than a recipe that makes one dozen or more scones. That's why I love my recipe for buttered pecan scones, too.
It's not that we can't share scones or stack leftovers in the freezer, it's just that there's just something satisfying about using one bowl to make a small batch of scones that will be devoured the same day. Small batch baking makes me happy, how about you? My pumpkin scones make me extra happy to bake in the Fall months, especially.
Chocolate Chip Scone Recipe
Chocolate chip scones, bakery style!
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
- ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream, plus extra for brushing
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Dice the butter and add it to the flour mixture. Work the butter into the flour mixture until it's evenly distributed and smaller than peas. Use two knives, a pastry cutter, or your hands.
- Next, add the heavy cream and egg yolk in a small bowl and whisk together. Pour this on the flour mixture and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Don't overmix, but incorporate things well.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir lightly to combine.
- Scoop the dough out, place it on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use the warmth of your hands to make it stick together into a circle.
- Slice the dough circle into 4 even pieces. Brush each piece with extra heavy cream all over.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and they lightly brown on the edges.
- Let cool for a few minutes before serving. These scones will keep for up to 2 days covered tightly on the counter. To reheat, use a toaster oven to crisp instead of the microwave.
Notes
You can also add orange zest to the dough to make chocolate-orange scones. Delicious!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 402Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 132mgSodium: 358mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 2gSugar: 19gProtein: 7g
Cathy says
This recipe sounds delicious but when do you add the chocolate chips?
Christina Lane says
Fixing this now, sorry! I pasted in the directions from my lemon scones :)
jan says
Thank you for a small recipe! I live alone, so 4 is perfect. I will make it without sugar because I am diabetic
Laurie Wright says
these sound delicious anxious to try them
Tiffany McLaughlin says
Just made these and I think I over did it with cream brushing it on top before baking them, but nonetheless these bad boys are delicious! I can’t believe how easy it is to make these. Will need to make these on a weekly basis. 🤤 I love your recipes especially since it’s just me and my boyfriend and I’m not a huge fan of left overs. Thanks for the amazing and easy recipe!
Cheryl says
These just came out of the oven and melt in your mouth. We have a tea room in Chattanooga that makes delicious vanilla bean scones. I think they need your recipe. Thank you for giving me a successful first foray into making scones.
Brooke says
How much cinnamon would you use in the dough if you made these with cinnamon chips?
Christina Lane says
I haven't tried it, so I'm not sure! I'd start with 1 teaspoon and then work my way up.
Chandra Lake says
Unfortunately, the written directions for chocolate chip scones say to turn the dough out onto the parchment paper instead of onto the counter or marble slab. (Which is what your video shows). I could not move the dough into individual scones by turning it onto the parchment paper and cutting it there. Had to leave it as is (almost like a soda bread).
I'm pretty disappointed in this. The written directions should match the video. Still edible, but a frustrating waste of my time and ingredients.
Christina Lane says
Hi Chandra,
Sorry for the very slight inconsistency in work surfaces between video vs written instruction. There is quite a bit of time gap between me posting a recipe and me filming one, but anyway, I don't think your recipe failed because of work surface.
Absolutely NOTHING should stick to parchment paper. I can't even get tape to stick to it. So, you're saying you cut the scones on parchment and then couldn't separate them slightly? Did you knead before you dumped them out? I'm imagining that you worked the dough on the parchment paper instead of making it come together in the bowl before dumping it out? I didn't say to do it like that. The flat disk of dough should be easy to slice into pieces. It should be easy to separate the scones from there.
If your dough was soft like soda bread, you did something wrong. Did you measure the cream correctly?
Chandra Lake says
As an update to my earlier comment, these scones really are very tasty and the small batch size is perfect for two people. I will definitely be making these again (and will have learned from my previous mistake).!
Evelyn Fella says
Hi.
Don't have cream. Could I use whole milk in this recipe?
Thanks!
Christina Lane says
I wouldn't...they'll be too soft and muffin-y rather than a scone. I'm sorry!
Jenna says
Instead of 4, I cut them into 8 and they're a perfect little treat! Absolutely delicious recipe! Can't wait to make again.
Amreen says
I just made a lightened up version of this recipe and it was soooo good!!! I subbed the cream for 2% milk and subbed the sugar for monkfruit sweetner! Saved me a trip to Panera and I got to eat 2 😄 Thank you so much!!!!
Christina Lane says
This is awesome! Thanks for sharing the substitutes!