Melody’s Almond Chocolate-Chip Scones
• Recipes
When writing The Saturday Night Supper Club and Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe, I was inspired to delve into my favorite recipes and create new variations with my characters in mind. This almond chocolate chip scone is sweet enough to serve for tea or dessert, but not so sweet it will give you a sugar crash immediately after breakfast. Might I say it would make an excellent book club treat, especially if you’re discussing your favorite foodie romance? (Hint, hint…)
Melody's Almond Chocolate-Chip Scones
This recipe straddles the line between sweet American coffee-shop style scones and their biscuit-like British counterparts. Feel free to omit the chocolate chips or substitute your favorite mix-ins and extracts. This recipe works equally well with lemon extract and blueberries.
Servings 8 scones
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter cold, and cut into small pieces
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup half-and-half plus extra for brushing
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Combine 2 cups of the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or your fingers. Alternatively, you can place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times until the flour mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Add 1 cup of half-and-half and the almond extract; stir mixture until it forms a soft dough. Add in remaining flour a bit at a time until the dough holds together. It will be slightly sticky. Depending on ambient humidity and that of the ingredients, you may not use all the flour.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Bring together and pat into a disc about one inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges with a lightly oiled knife. If you prefer mini-scones, divide dough in half and form two separate discs; cut each disc into 8 wedges for a total of 16.
- Arrange wedges on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops with the remaining half-and-half and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes for full-sized scones and 15 minutes for mini scones. Remove to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before eating.
Tags: breakfast, scones, snack, tea
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