Chocolate Chip Scones
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Sweet, tender, and buttery with morsels of warm chocolate, chocolate chip scones are a kid favorite.
Whether it’s chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip granola bars, or chocolate chip muffins, I’ve found that anything dotted with chocolate chips will catch a kid’s eye. These chocolate chip scones are no exception — sweet, tender, and buttery with morsels of melted chocolate within, kids (and adults!) absolutely love them. They’re wonderful served warm out of the oven, especially on a lazy weekend morning when you feel like spoiling everyone. This recipe is a variation on my traditional cream scones. The difference is that these are a bit sweeter, dotted with chocolate chips, and flavored with vanilla. They also disappear faster, at least at my house.
Table of Contents
“These are great! I’ve tried to make scones 3 times with other recipes, this is the first time they came out perfectly.”
What You’ll need To Make Chocolate Chip Scones
- Cake Flour: The base of the scones. Cake flour provides a softer, more delicate texture than all-purpose flour. Don’t have cake flour on hand? See the FAQs to see how to make your own cake flour using all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
- Baking Powder: Acts as a leavening agent, helping the scones rise and become light and fluffy.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness and enhances the flavor of the scones.
- Butter: Incorporates richness and flavor, contributing to the scones’ buttery taste and flakiness.
- Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips: Infuse the scones with bursts of chocolate flavor.
- Egg: Acts as a binding agent, helping to hold the scone dough together.
- Heavy Cream: Provides moisture and richness, resulting in a tender and moist scone. Do not substitute light cream or milk
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavor profile with its aromatic sweetness.
- Demerara Sugar: (Also called raw or turbinado sugar) Sprinkled on top for a crunchy, caramelized texture and a hint of sweetness.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then whisk to blend.
Add the pieces of cold butter.
Use your fingertips to rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles very coarse crumbs. Don’t worry about getting a uniform consistency. All those little pea-size clumps of butter create structure in the scones and make them tender and fluffy when baked.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Combine the cream, egg, and vanilla in a small bowl.
Whisk to blend.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the cream mixture.
Stir with a rubber spatula until blended.
When the dough comes together, dump it onto a work surface dusted with flour. It should be sticky.
Gently knead the dough into a ball.
And then press it into a flat circle about 3/4-inch high.
Cut the circle into 8 wedges.
Transfer the wedges to prepared baking sheet, then sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden and firm to the touch.
Serve scones warm out of the oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cake flour is finer and lower in protein, which makes lighter and fluffier scones. If you don’t have any on hand, a simple blend of all-purpose flour and a bit of cornstarch makes a great substitute. Simply whisk together 1¾ cups all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cornstarch. This easy swap will take your scones from just okay to fantastic, giving them that perfectly tender, fluffy, ultra-buttery crumb. If you’d like some other options for using up cake flour, take your pick from cherry cornmeal upside-down cake to crumb cake to pound cake.
Definitely! To freeze them before baking, place the raw scones on a baking sheet, let set in the freezer, then place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Wait until you’re ready to bake the scones to brush on the egg wash, and allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To freeze after baking, let the scones cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Before serving, remove the scones from the container and let them come to room temperature. (If you have the option to freeze the scones before or after baking them, you will get the best results if you freeze before baking.)
Demerara (also called raw or turbinado) sugar is a type of cane sugar with large, crunchy crystals and a slightly amber color. It has a natural caramel-like flavor and is often used to add texture and sweetness to the tops or exterior of baked goods like pecan shortbread cookies and strawberry muffins. If you don’t have it on hand, you can substitute light or dark brown sugar, or simply omit it.
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Chocolate Chip Scones
Sweet, tender, and buttery with morsels of warm chocolate, chocolate chip scones are a kid favorite.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cake flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled with knife (see note on substitution)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, best quality such as Guittard or Ghirardelli
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ - ¾ cup heavy cream (do not substitute milk or light cream)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon demerara sugar (also called raw sugar or turbinado)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, salt, baking powder and granulated sugar. Add the pieces of cold butter. Use your fingertips to rub butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-size clumps of butter within. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- In a small bowl, whisk together ⅔ cup heavy cream, the egg and the vanilla. Make a well in center of dry ingredients, then add the cream mixture. Use a rubber spatula to mix until the dough comes together. It should be a bit sticky. If it seems dry, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream.
- Dust a work surface lightly with flour, then dump the sticky dough on top. Knead very gently a few times until the dough comes together into a ball, sprinkling more flour as needed if the dough is too sticky to work with. Press the dough into a circle about ¾-inch high, then cut into 8 wedges. Transfer the wedges to the prepared baking sheet, and then sprinkle evenly with the demerara sugar. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the scones are lightly golden and firm to the touch. Serve warm.
- Note: If you don't have cake flour, you can make your own: simply whisk together 1¾ cups all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cornstarch.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: To freeze before baking, place the raw scones on a baking sheet, let set in the freezer, then place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To freeze after baking, let the scones cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Before serving, remove the scones from the container and let them come to room temperature. (If you have the option to freeze the scones before or after baking them, you will get the best results if you freeze before baking.)
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 1 scone
- Calories: 364
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated fat: 12 g
- Carbohydrates: 44 g
- Sugar: 16 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 217 mg
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I think it would have been better just spooning the moist dough onto the parchment paper and baking the way you do Sticky Fingers scones. The flavor was good, but I had to add so much flour to be able to roll out and cut into wedges that it made them very dry. I will try again making them as drop scones or less cream.
These were delicious! Is it better to freeze the scones before baking or after baking?
Hi Josephine, I’d freeze them before if possible. 🙂
I have made these scones for my son-in-law several times. I always give them as a parting gift after a family visit. Come to find out, since they live about 3 hours away – apparently the children and my daughter dive into the package
en route home! I don’t think he ends up with many for himself as everyone loves them! I follow the recipe exactly, and they are a big hit!
Can i use blueberries instead of chocolate chips?
Hi Fanny, Do you have my cookbook? I have a wonderful blueberry scone recipe in there. If you don’t have the book, feel free to email me at jennifer@onceuponachef.com and I’ll send it to you.
Yes I have the book.i didn’t see that.i see ot now.
Can i use cake flour instead of all purpose flour to the BLUEBERRY scone the one is the book.
Hi Fanny, I actually don’t recommend cake flour for the blueberry scones. The blueberries release so much juice, you really need the all-purpose flour to lend structure; otherwise they fall apart (I’ve tried it!).
I love your recipes! The presentation and pictures make them even more appetizing.
For this scone recipe, I made it, I liked it, but I still feel that it’s missing something. It is flaky and tender, and maybe too tender, for scones. I think I like scone a bit more “dense” to hold the buttery signature taste of scone. These scones are light and airy, and while that is much better than dry and dense, it’s still missing something. Maybe next time I’ll try using half all purpose and half cake flour. Thanks!
Hi Amy, For a denser scone, use all-purpose flour. 🙂
These scones are perfect. Just the right texture and delicious. I use chocolate chunks. I wrap each one individually and freeze them. They are great with coffee in the morning.
These are my go-to recipe if I’m having people over for coffee. The scones are easy to make and they freeze perfectly so can be made ahead of time and defrosted when needed. I have even used cookie cutters to customize the shapes from triangles into hearts or scallop-edged circles.
As an avid follower, I just wanted to thank you for your recipes and blog. I actually feel like I am becoming a decent cook/baker because I finally have the confidence to try new things due to your very specific instruction and recipe details. I just made these scones the other day(and I would never have attempted anything like this a couple years ago), and they were delightful! My friends wanted the recipe so I shared your blog with them. Thanks so much for your willingness to share!
Oh, and since I can now make a scone, 🙂
is this recipe pretty much interchangeable with other flavors? For example, insert blueberries instead of chocolate chips? TIA!
So glad you enjoyed them, Amy! And thank you for the kind words about the recipes – that makes me happy 😊. I would say you could use this scone recipe for some scone flavors but not all. For example, it would work with dried fruits like currants, raisins, or dried blueberries. Fresh blueberries are quite tart and release a lot of juice, so the recipe would need to be adjusted. I actually have a wonderful recipe for blueberry scones with lemon glaze in my upcoming cookbook. I’m happy to email it to you, if you’d like. Lmk. 🙂
These came out delicious. First time I have ever baked with cake flour and I was happy I did. Quick question, we had some left over and they were clearly not as good as when I first made them. An suggestions on the best way of serving/using leftovers? I had put them in a plastic sealed container. Thanks for another great recipe
I made these scones tonight and was very pleased by the outcome. They were not too dry and very tasty. I will definitely make these again.