These chocolate chip scones are flakey, buttery, and perfect for a lazy brunch or sweet snack.
Have you ever made homemade scones? I love them because they’re very easy compared with a lot of baked goods! No special equipment is required, and they don’t take much time at all. The ingredients are all pretty basic (you might even have them all in your pantry and fridge as we speak.) What’s not to love?
How to Make Chocolate Chip Scones
You want to start with cold ingredients for the best results. This results in flakier scones. Some bakers even recommend chilling the flour and/or the mixing bowl, but I don’t usually go that far. Cold butter and cold cream should get the job done.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, then use a pastry blender, fork, or clean fingers to incorporate the butter until it resembles coarse cornmeal with a few larger pieces here and there. Next, stir in the chocolate chips.
Stir in the cream, mixing until the ingredients are just combined (check the bottom of the bowl for sneaky dry patches). The dough should be dry but workable, and sometimes the consistency will vary depend on how much the butter was broken down. The less you mix the ingredients at this point, the better.
If the dough is sticking to your fingers and difficult to work with, you can add another tablespoon of flour. If the dough is dry to the point where you can’t incorporate all of the dry ingredients, you can briefly knead it. This will warm up the butter slightly and help the dry ingredients incorporate. But try to do this as little as possible for best results.
Divide the dough in half evenly, then shape into two round discs that are around 7 inches in diameter each (check out the photo below; you can see by the cracks around the edges that the dough is dry. This is normal).
Divide each disc into 6 wedges. If you have a bench scraper, I find this is the best tool to get the job done quickly.
Brush the tops with melted butter, then bake for 10-12 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and your kitchen smells amazing. Let the scones cool for at least 10 minutes before serving them. They’re great either warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
You can substitute buttermilk for the heavy cream in this recipe. You can also use my recipe for homemade buttermilk substitute, which uses whole milk and lemon juice or vinegar. Basically, use what you have.
You can get creative and swap out the chocolate chips here. Try white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, etc.
More Scones Recipes
If you love this recipe, be sure to check out my Cranberry Orange Scones, Cardamom Cinnamon Sugar Muffins, and Cranberry Goat Cheese Scones.
You can also see my full archive of brunch recipes here!
Chocolate Chip Scones
Ingredients
- 15 ounces all-purpose flour (3 cups using Scoop & Sweep Method)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (plus more for brushing)
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup cold heavy cream (or 50% heavy cream + 50% whole milk)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture and use a pastry blender or your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few larger pieces. Stir in the chocolate chips until they are evenly coated with flour.
- Add the heavy cream to the bowl, mixing the ingredients until just combined. The mixture should be fairly dry. If the dough sticks to your fingers, combine in an additional 1-2 tablespoons of flour until the dough is no longer sticky. If the dough is so dry that you can’t incorporate most of the flour, try very briefly kneading it to warm up the butter just slightly (keep in mind that the less you work the dough, the flakier the scones will be).
- Divide the dough in half and flatten into two round discs, about 7 inches in diameter. Cut each disc into 6 pieces. If you had to knead the dough at all, chill the scones for 10 minutes to firm the butter back up.
- Brush melted butter on top of each piece, then bake for 10-12 minutes, until both the tops and bottoms are golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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Molly Pisula says
Yum! Love a good scone recipe. Bookmarking for later!
Jessica says
This was my first time making scones with chocolate chips and I loved them even more than when I use dried fruit. Thanks so much!
wilhelmina says
I love, love, love these scones! So perfect for a weekend breakfast!
Barbara says
I’ve always wanted to try scones ever since reading about them in a story book about a girl and her favorite horse. I was always disappointed by the commercial scones, wondering what all the hype was about. The secret had to be in them being home baked. Gave your recipe a try, using buttermilk instead of heavy cream and chilling the dough before dividing into wedges. They turned out wonderfully delicious! Light and flaky. My husband was skeptical about scones from his past experiences, but he thinks these are great too. Thank you for sharing your recipe!