Chocolate Chip Scones

Have you ever had a dream that you wished was real?

I’ve had a lot of them, but the one I had last night I have to share with you. It was baking related. It was wonderful. I went to Pathmark (a supermarket) post some sort of holiday and looked for the bags of candy. When I found them, it was 25 cents a bag. Heaven. In my dream, I bought 2 bags of Twix, 2 bags of Milky Ways, 2 bags of Almond Joys, 2 bags of chocolate covered pretzels, and 2 bags of Kit Kats. Dream Sara had to control herself, because truthfully, she wanted to buy the Snickers, the jelly beans, the fruit roll ups, the fruit by the foot, the reese’s… Literally everything.

Not only was the dream wonderful because of the great deal that I got. Apparently I got $118 worth of candy for $5. Pretty sure that’s not a legit price, but whatever. Dream world was awesome. But, I bought all the candy with the intent of baking some wonderful things.

It might have been spawned by my attempt post Easter to use the cheap and leftover candy I had purchased at CVS to make cookies and other wonderful candy bar stuffed things. Except for the fact that I ate all the mini milky ways, 3 musketeers and twix. Whoops. I still have a bag of Reese’s Eggs.

Anyway, so in my dream, my great ideas? Candy bar loaded chocolate chip cookie bars. Almond Joy stuffed and flavored cupcakes. Trashy Cookies (with crushed up chocolate covered pretzels and potato chips). Truthfully? I want to make all of these. I wouldn’t necessarily stuff the cupcakes with an Almond Joy, but I would definitely make an Almond Joy flavored cupcake. If only I could actually find such cheap candy selections…

While I don’t have any of those recipes for you today, I have these wonderful scones to make your Monday brighter. They are light, sort of sweet, just enough chocolate to have a piece in each bite but they’re not overwhelmingly sweet. Perfect to accompany your breakfast, especially when you want a little fresh pick-me-up.

The great thing about scones is that they last in the freezer. Both times I made them, I would keep them in the freezer and then take out 1 or 2 when I felt like having one. It was perfect. The freezer keeps the butter really cold (cold butter is crucial) and when it bakes up, it doesn’t matter if you let the scone defrost first or pop it straight into the oven. The cooking time might vary, so just keep an eye on them. But for those mornings during the week when you want to have a more special breakfast, instead of just cereal or granola or oatmeal, they don’t take a long time at all. Just preheat the oven while you’re getting ready, pop them in, and the continue with your routine and voila! A freshly baked scone without having to start from square one. Or, you can make these for a wonderful brunch with friends. Not a lot of hard work and a delicious outcome. Win-win situation!

Chocolate Chip Scones

makes about 18-24 scones, depending on size

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Whisk together until combined. Add in the butter. Use a pastry blender, fork, or your hands to work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly and looks like coarse sand. It’s okay for there to be some larger chunks of butter/uneven. Stir in the chocolate chips.

In a small mixing bowl or directly in the measuring cup, whisk together the milk, eggs, and vanilla. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until combined. The dough should be moistened. If it’s too dry, add up to 1/3 cup additional milk, a little at a time. The dough should hold together without being wet or dry.

Lay out a piece of parchment paper on the counter. Dump the dough onto the parchment paper and roll out (or press out using your hands) into a rectangle. Using a floured knife (to help slice through the dough), slice the dough into 9 or 12 squares (a 3×3 or 3×4 pattern, depending on the size scones you want). Then, cut each individual square on the diagonal aka in half.

On a piece of parchment or Silpat mat or greased baking sheet, line up the scones an inch apart. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, or until the edges and tops are a light golden brown.

Note:

1. If you want larger scones, adjust the baking time accordingly.
2. Scones are best when fresh, so try and bake only the scones you need. They keep well in the freezer, so you can keep them frozen until you want fresh scones. Follow directions up until the actual baking time. Freeze them for the first 30 minutes on the baking sheets, and then transfer the scones into freezer safe ziplock bags. Keep them in the freezer, and then whenever you want fresh baked scones with breakfast, just add a few minutes to the bake time (still check first around the 15 minute mark – all ovens are different).
3. The first time you bake these, keep an eye on them. Depending on the oven I bake these in, the cookie time varies slightly and you don’t want burned scones.

[source: adapted from King Arthur Flour]