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Light, flakey, and loaded with delicious morsels of decadent chocolate, these Chocolate Chip Scones are divine! They have the most perfect crumbly texture and rich buttery taste with hints of buttermilk and vanilla.
The Best Chocolate Chip Scone Recipe
If you love chocolate chip cookies then this recipe is for you! These chocolate chip scones are everything that makes a chocolate chip cookie an American favorite but in a sweet buttery scone. They are moist and tender with just the right amount of chocolaty chip goodness! After just one bite you are sure to be hooked!
And the recipe is so easy! In fact, most scones are pretty easy to make. So even the most novice baker can easily make this recipe for homemade chocolate chip scones with no problem. It requires very basic ingredients and is made using a very simple technique. It’s a fantastic pastry recipe that will impress your friends and family.
Why We Love These Chocolate Chip Scones
- Morsels of Decadent Chocolate! These flakey scones are filled with rich delicious chocolate chips that are enhanced with a dash of salt and vanilla to add depth of flavor.
- Easy to Make! This recipe can be made in under an hour and requires no special ingredients or baking equipment. It’s a great recipe for even the most beginner bakers.
- Event Ready! Chocolate chip scones are a crowd pleaser and can be made ahead of time. They are perfect for your next early morning work meeting, potluck brunch, or family gathering!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Flour – Simple all-purpose flour is all you need.
- Sugar – I used granulated white sugar. You can also use cane sugar.
- Baking Powder – Used as a leavening agent it helps the scones to rise.
- Salt – Balances the sweetness of the chocolate as well as enhances the flavor.
- Butter – You need cold unsalted butter for the scones. You can also use shortening as a substitution.
- Chocolate Chips – Use good quality chocolate chips for the yummiest scones. Semi-sweet, dark, or milk chocolate chips are all good choices
- Buttermilk – I love to use buttermilk in scones. But any type of milk can be used. You can also make your own buttermilk by adding one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk and allowing it to sit for about 5 minutes to slightly curdle.
- Eggs – You need two large eggs.
- Vanilla – Use pure vanilla extract if you can to further boost the chocolate flavor.
- Preheat the oven and prep the pan: Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Make the base of the dough: Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and whisk the dry ingredients together. Then add the cold butter and blend it together with the dry ingredient using a pastry cutter or two forks. You want the mixture to resemble coarse crumbs, so be very careful not to overwork the butter into the flour mixture. Then stir in the chocolate chips.
- Add the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Then add it to the flour mixture and stir just until it holds together.
- Knead the dough: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently knead it about 12 times until the flour is incorporated. Yet, as you knead, be careful not to overwork the dough. You want the mixture to still have chunks of butter, which is what makes the scones bake up so light, flakey, and crumbly good.
- Shape the dough and cut: Form the dough into an 8-inch circle and then cut it into 8 triangular shape wedges. It’s almost like cutting a pizza and you can even use a pizza cutter to do this step.
- Bake the chocolate chip scones: Place the formed scones onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool and serve: When the scones are done baking, allow them to cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes. Then dust the scones with powdered sugar and serve.
What Can I Add To My Scones?
Chopped nuts or dried fruit can easily be added to the scones. Just add either of them to the dough when you mix in the chocolate chips. I personally think chopped pecans or dried cranberries are great options. Both go really well in scones with chocolate chips. I’d also suggest only adding about 1/2 cup of any chopped nut or any other ingredient to the dough. And only add one additional mix-in as you don’t want to dry the dough out.
Can I Make Gluten-Free Scones?
Probably yes, but I’ve not tried. However, make sure to use a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour that has xanthan gum in it, which acts as a replacement for the gluten that is naturally in all-purpose flour.
Can I Make Dairy-Free Scones?
Yes, simply use shortening in place of the cold butter and dairy-free milk. A vegan butter may work, but I’ve not tried it and it may be too soft for this chocolate chip scone recipe. Remember that you want the dough to have chunks of fat to produce that light flaky texture. Soft butter of any kind won’t create that.
Expert Tips
- Cold butter is a must. If your butter is not cold you will not get that amazing crumbly scone texture. So be sure that your butter is cold. You can even put the cubed butter in the freezer for about 5 minutes before you begin the recipe.
- Use a box grater to shred cold butter, then just mix it in with the flour, so much easier.
- Don’t overwork the dough. You want that cold cubed butter that you incorporated into the flour to remain somewhat crumbly. So be gentle when kneading your dough. It needs to be mixed, but those chunks of butter are the key to flakey light scones, so don’t knead them away.
- Quality ingredients matter. For these simple chocolate chip scones, higher quality unsalted butter and chocolate chips are going to produce richer, more refined, better tasting scones.
- Use buttermilk or make your own. The buttermilk has a mild acidic quality to it which is important in this recipe. It complements the butter and chocolate chips. However, if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand you can easily make your own by adding one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to every one cup of milk and then letting it sit for about 5 minutes to curdle a bit.
Storage
Homemade chocolate chip scones can be stored in an airtight container for about 1 to 2 days at room temperature or for about a week in the fridge. To reheat, you can put them in the microwave for about 15 seconds or in the toaster oven for about 2 to 3 minutes.
You can also store scones in the freezer for about 3 months. Then just allow the frozen scones to thaw out at room temperature for about an hour before reheating.
Make Ahead
You can easily make these chocolate chip scones ahead of time so that they are ready to go for your next event or simply just to have on hand. And it’s super easy to do. Because scones freeze so incredibly well that means you can make them in advance and just store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Then just remove them from the freezer a few hours before you plan to serve, allow them to thaw out, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and enjoy!
Other Delicious Recipes To Try
Chocolate Chip Scones
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup butter cold, cut into cubes
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prep the pan: Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Make the base of the dough: Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and whisk the dry ingredients together. Then add the cold butter and blend it together with the dry ingredient using a pastry cutter or two forks. You want the mixture to resemble coarse crumbs, so be very careful not to overwork the butter into the flour mixture. Then stir in the chocolate chips.
- Add the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Then add it to the flour mixture and stir just until it holds together.
- Knead the dough: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently knead it about 12 times until the flour is incorporated. Yet, as you knead, be careful not to overwork the dough. You want the mixture to still have chunks of butter, which is what makes the scones bake up so light, flakey, and crumbly good.
- Shape the dough and cut: Form the dough into an 8-inch circle and then cut it into 8 triangular shape wedges. It’s almost like cutting a pizza and you can even use a pizza cutter to do this step.
- Bake the chocolate chip scones: Place the formed scones onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool and serve: When the scones are done baking, allow them to cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes. Then dust the scones with powdered sugar and serve.
Tips & Notes:
- Cold butter is a must. If your butter is not cold you will not get that amazing crumbly scone texture. So be sure that your butter is cold. You can even put the cubed butter in the freezer for about 5 minutes before you begin the recipe.
- Use a box grater to shred cold butter, then just mix it in with the flour, so much easier.
- Don’t overwork the dough. You want that cold cubed butter that you incorporated into the flour to remain somewhat crumbly. So be gentle when kneading your dough. It needs to be mixed, but those chunks of butter are the key to flakey light scones, so don’t knead them away.
- Quality ingredients matter. For these simple chocolate chip scones, higher quality unsalted butter and chocolate chips are going to produce richer, more refined, better tasting scones.
- Use buttermilk or make your own. The buttermilk has a mild acidic quality to it which is important in this recipe. It complements the butter and chocolate chips. However, if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand you can easily make your own by adding one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to every one cup of milk and then letting it sit for about 5 minutes to curdle a bit.
