Tender Buttery Chocolate Chip

Rainy Saturday mornings in my tiny apartment kitchen became sacred when I discovered the magic of scones. Something about transforming cold butter and flour into something warm and comforting felt like a small victory against the gray weather outside.

I remember making these for a book club meeting once, and my friend Sarah actually paused mid conversation after her first bite. She asked if I'd been secretly taking pastry classes, but honestly, I'd just finally learned not to overwork the dough.

Ingredients

• Allpurpose flour: The foundation of everything, and I learned the hard way that measuring by weight instead of volume makes a huge difference in texture.
• Granulated sugar: Just enough sweetness to make these feel like a treat without overpowering the buttery goodness.
• Baking powder: This is what gives scones their signature lift, so make sure yours is fresh or theyll be more like biscuits than the fluffy rounds youre dreaming of.
• Salt: Dont skip it even a small amount wakes up all the other flavors and keeps these from tasting flat.
• Cold unsalted butter: The absolute key to flaky layers, and I mean truly cold, straight from the fridge butter that you can feel through your fingertips.
• Heavy cream: Creates the most tender crumb imaginable, and I always keep an extra splash nearby for brushing on top before baking.
• Egg: Adds structure and richness, helping these hold their beautiful wedge shape while still melting in your mouth.
• Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract, never imitation, because this is one of those recipes where quality really shines through.
• Semisweet chocolate chips: I use these instead of milk chocolate because they hold their shape better and provide that perfect balance with the sweet cream dough.

Instructions

Preheat your space:

Crank that oven to 400F and line your baking sheet with parchment paper now so youre not scrambling later.

Whisk the dry team:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until theyre thoroughly blended and ready to embrace the butter.

Cut in the butter:

Add those cold butter cubes and work them into the flour with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until you see coarse crumbs throughout the bowl.

Blend the wet ingredients:

In another bowl, whisk together the cream, egg, and vanilla until they form a smooth, golden mixture.

Bring it all together:

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir gently, just until the flour disappears.

Add the chocolate:

Fold in the chocolate chips, being careful not to overwork the dough, which would make these tough instead of tender.

Shape the scones:

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a 7 inch circle, about 1 inch thick, handling it as little as possible.

Cut into wedges:

Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut the circle into 8 equal wedges and arrange them on your prepared baking sheet.

Give them a glow:

Brush the tops with a little extra cream, which will help them develop that gorgeous golden finish.

Bake to perfection:

Slide them into the oven and let them bake for 1618 minutes until theyre beautifully golden brown and cooked through.

The hard part:

Let them cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before diving in, because cutting into warm scones can make them gummy.

Save

These became my goto after a particularly terrible breakup, when my sister showed up at my door with all the ingredients and sat at my kitchen table while I baked them. We ate them warm with way too much butter, and somehow the world felt a little more manageable.

The Secret to Cold Butter

After years of making these, I discovered that grating frozen butter into the flour mixture is even faster than cutting cold butter into cubes. It creates those tiny butter pieces that create flaky layers almost effortlessly, and the dough comes together in about half the time.

Make Them Your Own

While chocolate chips are classic in my house, these scones are incredibly forgiving and welcome all kinds of additions. I once made them with dried cherries and white chocolate for a friend who doesnt like regular chocolate, and she requests them every time she visits now.

Storage and Serving Suggestions

Fresh scones are obviously best the same day, but I learned to wrap any leftovers tightly and freeze them for those mornings when you want bakery quality without the effort. A quick 5 minute warm up in the oven brings them right back to life.

• Split them in half and add a smear of lemon curd for something completely different.
• Pair with a strong cup of coffee in the morning or afternoon tea.
• These freeze beautifully for up to a month if wrapped well.

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Theres something deeply satisfying about pulling a tray of golden scones from the oven, knowing you created something so comforting with your own hands. May your kitchen always smell like butter and chocolate.