Chocolate Chunk Scones
The base scone dough is easily adaptable, here I’ve used bittersweet chocolate chunks and flakey sea salt to play off a combination of salty and bitter.
In the fall, I stumbled across a video on YouTube of Ina Garten baking ginormous chocolate pecan scones and ever since I haven’t been able to get chocolate chip scones out of my head. The funny part was I couldn’t recall the last time I had even made scones, so I had to change that.
Scones have always been one of those treats that I wasn’t quite sure about when they were intended to be served. Are they a breakfast treat? Are they supposed to be an afternoon snack to enjoy with a cup of tea? Nevertheless, scones are almost always delicious regardless of the time of day that they’re served when made correctly.
Back in the day, when I was just getting into baking, I thought I was so advanced because I made Harry & David scones. I think I tended to make them when I was recovering from a hangover or avoiding doing homework. While tasty, it wasn't until I started making scones from scratch that I became a true fan of scones. Since those early scone mix days, scones of all varieties have been synonymous with rainy, cold weather.
These chocolate chunk scones are probably better suited for an afternoon snack than for breakfast, unless you're a chocoholic (or feeding a table full of chocoholics.) What I love most about these scones is the use of chocolate chunks in place of chips. Since the chunks aren't uniform sizes, you get little pockets of gooey chocolate that make for an unexpected mouthful of deliciousness.
Making these chocolate chunk scones is pretty straightforward and would be a good project for little helpers in the kitchen, especially on a wet, rainy day when going outside is out of the question. After the dough is combined and the chunks of chocolate have been hand-kneaded into the dough, the dough is rolled into a disc, divided into twelve wedges and then it hangs out in the refrigerator or freezer for 30 minutes to an hour to re-solidify the fat. You might be tempted to immediately bake the scones, but chilling the dough keeps the scones from spreading while they bake. Plus, by chilling the dough, the flavors become more intense because the moisture is drawn out.
Whether you plan to bake these chocolate chunk scones for breakfast or afternoon tea, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Sea Salt Chocolate Chunk Scones Ingredients & Instructions
Makes 12 scones