Chocolate Scones

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (215g)
• ¼ cup natural cocoa powder (25g)
• ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces (very cold, I recommend placing your butter in the freezer for 15 minutes before beginning) (113g)
• ½ cup heavy cream, cold (118ml)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (I like to use half mini and half regular-sized chocolate chips) (85g)

Chocolate Glaze

• ¾ cup powdered sugar (95g)
• 2 Tablespoons natural cocoa powder (14g)
• 2-3 Tablespoons milk (I use whole milk, but any will do)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In the basin of a food processor (see note if you do not have a food processor) combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt and pulse to combine.
3. Scatter cold butter pieces over dry ingredients and pulse until butter is cut into the flour mixture and only pea-sized pieces remain.
4. Drizzle heavy cream and vanilla extract over mixture and pulse until mixture is beginning to cling together.
5. Turn dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface and sprinkle chocolate chips overtop.
6. Use your hands to quickly work dough together and work the chips into the dough (try to avoid over-handling or overworking the dough as much as possible, as this can cause the butter to become too warm and can diminish the flakiness of your scones!).
7. Fold dough in half over itself and gently press the layers together. Rotate dough 90 degrees and fold in half again, repeating until you have done 5-6 folds.
8. Form the dough into a disk about 1” (2.5cm) thick by 6” (15cm) round and cut into 8 wedges by pressing straight down with a large sharp knife (do not saw through the dough, which can cause the scones to topple over while they bake).
9. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, spacing 2” apart. If desired, pop in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before baking (this helps them maintain their shape a bit better).
10. Transfer scones to 375F (190C) oven and bake for 14-15 minutes, until baked through.
11. Allow scones to cool completely on baking sheet before drizzling with glaze (if desired).

Chocolate Glaze

1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, 2 Tablespoons of milk, and vanilla extract. If glaze is too thick (it should ribbon off the whisk and hold its shape for a second or two before dissolving back into the bowl), add additional milk as needed.
2. Drizzle scones with chocolate glaze and allow glaze to dry before enjoying.