Chocolate Chip Scones
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These chocolate chip scones are soft, buttery, and just sweet enough, with plenty of melty chocolate in every bite. They’re perfect with coffee, tea, or straight off the baking sheet.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that anything with chocolate chips is an instant hit with my kids—chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip muffins, you name it. These chocolate chip scones are no different. They’re sweet, buttery, and tender, with just the right amount of melty chocolate in every bite. Warm from the oven, they’re perfect for a lazy weekend morning when you feel like spoiling everyone.
This recipe is a twist on my classic cream scones—just a bit sweeter, flecked with chocolate chips, and flavored with vanilla. And they always disappear fast…at least around here.
“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 thanks to its lower protein content. Don’t have cake flour on hand? You can make your own; just whisk together 1¾ cups all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cornstarch.
- Baking Powder: Gives scones their lift, helping them rise and become light and fluffy.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the dough just enough to balance the richness and chocolate.
- Cold Butter: Butter adds richness and helps create a tender, flaky texture in scones; keeping it cold ensures it melts during baking, forming steam pockets that lift and lighten the dough.
- Semisweet Chocolate Chips: Semisweet chips bring bursts of melty chocolate throughout—use a high-quality brand like Guittard or Ghirardelli for the best flavor.
- Egg: Helps bind the dough and adds richness.
- Heavy Cream: Adds moisture and richness to the dough, creating a soft crumb. Don’t swap it for milk or light cream—this is one place where the fat really matters.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds warm, subtle flavor that complements the chocolate.
- Demerara Sugar: Sprinkled on top before baking for a sweet, caramel-y crunch on the outside. Also known as raw or turbinado sugar. If you don’t have it on hand, you can substitute brown sugar or more granulated sugar.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Whisking helps evenly distribute the baking powder, which ensures the scones rise and bake evenly.
Step 2: Cut in the butter. Add the cold butter and use your fingertips to rub it in until the mixture looks very coarse—those little clumps of butter are what make the scones tender.
Step 3: Add the chocolate chips. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Step 4: Whisk the wet ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk the cream, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
Step 5: Combine wet and dry. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients, and stir it all together. (Making a well helps incorporate the wet ingredients more gently, which reduces overmixing.)
Step 6: Mix the dough. Stir with a spatula until the dough mostly comes together—it’ll be sticky.
Step 7: Shape and cut dough. Lightly knead it into a ball. Be gentle and stop as soon as the dough holds together; over-kneading can make the scones tough. Press the dough into a ¾-inch-thick circle and slice into 8 wedges. For clean cuts, use a sharp knife.
Step 8: Prep to bake. Transfer the wedges to a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with the Demerara sugar.
Step 9: Bake. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until light golden brown and set. Remove from oven and serve warm. The scones can be frozen, before or after baking, in an airtight container for up to 3 months. (For best results, freeze before baking.)
More Scone Recipes You May Like
Chocolate Chip Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups cake flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off (see note on substitution)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch (13-mm) pieces
- ⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, best quality such as Guittard or Ghirardelli
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ to ¾ cup heavy cream (do not substitute milk or light cream)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon demerara sugar (also called raw or turbinado)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C) 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 (160 ml) 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-in (2-cm) 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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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First of all these scones were nearly perfect. My review is to share something I found out about baking. Regarding Baking Powder – make sure you buy Aluminum free BP! I made the mistake of buying a store brand and couldn’t understand why many of my baked goods had an underlying bitterness. As this recipe had a fair amount of baking powder, I did a little Google research and found out that aluminum in BP will cause bitterness! I can’t wait to make this recipe with my new aluminum free bp! I will go back into my review and update after making these again!
good old Rumford baking powder…what would we do without it
I already prepared the dry ingredients and then realized we didn’t have any eggs. Should I keep dry ingredients on standby until I get eggs later? Or should I bake without the egg?
Hi Carrie, I’d keep the dry ingredients on standby– you’ll be happy you waited!
OMG They didn’t last an hour after I said they were done! Generally I prefer Nuts and Berries but I used them up making your Cranberry Quick Bread earlier today (Which is also gone!) My hubby loves Bread of any kind but put Chocolate in it and he goes nuts but generally I get a piece or two, not this time. I did add a few cinnamon chips as well as the chocolate it was Fabulous!!
I forgot to add a rating!
I just made these for breakfast, half asleep and clumsy. I was sure I would butcher this recipe. However, they were AMAZING! Each bite was like heaven. I can’t wait to make it again!
Hi Jen,
I have two question:
1. Why can scone be made ahead the night before and still rise in the oven the next day but your quick cinnamon roll will not.
2. Can I use buttermilk instead of cream in your recipe? What does buttermilk do in such pastry?
Thank you!
Hi Lu, The scones are leavened with baking powder, while the cinnamon rolls are leavened with a combination of baking powder and baking soda. The buttermilk in the cinnamon roll dough reacts immediately with the baking soda, so they should be baked right away to get the maximum rise. Unfortunately, buttermilk won’t work in the scones — buttermilk is acidic and would require the addition of baking soda for the scones to rise. You’ll notice baking soda in any baked good that calls for acidic ingredients, such as citrus, buttermilk, etc. Hope that explains it 🙂
Thank you, Jen! I made your scone this weekend and followed this recipe! They were AMAZING! My picky three-year-old even asked for seconds.
These look amazing as do the pumpkin scones. My question is actually for both recipes. Can the batter be frozen, thawed and baked at a later date and if not, can the scones after cooking them be frozen? Thanks!
Hi Abbie, Yes, that should work just fine. Hope you enjoy 🙂
Perfect and easy! It would be fun to try different add-ins.
Why can’t milk or milk/butter combo substitute for heavy whipping cream? I’d really love to make these with my son but don’t have any in the house and hate to go to the store just for it. Thanks!
Hi Ursula, Milk will work but the scones won’t be as rich and tender.
Thank you, again, for this scone recipe. I baked it with my kids again this morning and we absolutely love it! It turns out perfect every time, even with an inexperienced baker like me.