Chocolate chip scones are buttery pastries with crisp, golden edges and soft, tender centers studded with melty chocolate chips. These bakery-style scones are straightforward to make and make a cozy treat for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon snack.
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Why Make This Recipe
Store-bought scones often turn out dry and crumbly, but homemade scones can be tender, flaky, and bakery-worthy. This chocolate chip scone recipe delivers buttery layers with pockets of melted chocolate and a lightly crunchy sugar top. It’s an easy, reliable way to bake elevated scones at home.
- Easy to prepare. The method is simple: combine dry ingredients, cut in cold butter, add the wet ingredients, shape into a disk, chill, cut, and bake.
- Great texture and flavor. Tender, flaky layers contrast with melty chocolate chips and an optional sugar-topped crust for added crunch.
- Make ahead and freeze. You can freeze the unbaked wedges and bake them straight from the freezer for fresh scones whenever you want.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This recipe uses simple pantry staples. Below are the ingredients and some easy substitutions.
- Granulated sugar: Maple sugar can be used to make the scones refined sugar–free.
- All-purpose flour: Substitute a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend (weigh to 300 g) to make them gluten-free.
- Baking powder: Provides lift and lightness.
- Unsalted butter: Use very cold butter. Vegan or plant-based butter can be substituted if kept very cold or even frozen.
- Egg: Binds the dough; the recipe hasn’t been tested without eggs.
- Heavy cream: Keeps the scones soft and tender; you can substitute half-and-half or buttermilk if needed.
- Vanilla extract: Adds a warm background flavor that complements chocolate.
- Mini chocolate chips: Mini chips distribute more evenly, but regular chips, dark or milk chocolate, or chunks work well too.
Variation
Chocolate Chip Drop Scones: After mixing the dough, gently gather and knead it 2–3 times on a lightly floured surface. Use a large scoop to portion the dough into about 12 drop scones. Place them on a lined baking sheet, freeze as directed, and bake at 425°F (218°C) for 12–14 minutes until golden and fragrant.
How To Make
Follow these steps to make chocolate chip scones.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined. Grate or cut very small cubes of cold butter into the flour. Use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.
- In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the egg, then whisk in the cold heavy cream and vanilla. Make a small well in the dry mixture and pour in half the wet ingredients, folding gently. Add the remainder of the wet ingredients and then fold in the chocolate chips. Mix just until the dough comes together; a few small dry bits are okay.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently shape it into a ball. Press and fold the dough a few times to form a 7–8 inch disk about 1 inch thick. Place the disk on a parchment-lined sheet or plate and chill in the freezer for 20–30 minutes. While chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Remove the disk from the freezer and cut it into 6–8 wedges with a dough scraper or a long, sharp knife. Place wedges about 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar if desired.
- Bake at 425°F (218°C) for 14–16 minutes, until the scones are lightly golden and fragrant. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack or serving warm.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Store: Keep baked scones in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–4 days.
- Freeze: Freeze unbaked, cut scone wedges on a tray, then transfer to an airtight container for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen (add 3–5 minutes to baking time). Baked, cooled scones can also be wrapped individually and frozen for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: Bake unbaked frozen wedges from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time. Reheat frozen baked scones in the microwave in 20-second increments until warm.
M’s Expert Tips
- Use very cold butter. Cold butter creates flaky layers—pop it in the freezer for a short time if needed.
- Keep everything cold. Chilling the dough and working quickly helps preserve butter pockets that make the scones flaky.
- Don’t overmix. Handle the dough gently; overworking will develop gluten and give dense scones.
- Chill before baking. Resting the disk in the freezer helps the butter solidify and the flour hydrate, improving rise and texture.
- Give room to rise. Space the wedges on the baking sheet so they can expand and brown evenly.
FAQs
They are soft, tender, flaky, and buttery with pockets of chocolate—somewhere between a biscuit and a muffin with chocolate chips.
Handle the dough as little as possible. Gather it gently and shape into a disk about 7–8 inches wide and 1 inch thick, then chill before cutting and baking.
Chilling lets the flour hydrate and the butter firm up, which helps create flaky layers and prevents the butter from melting too quickly in the oven.
As a guideline, bake scones at 400–425°F for roughly 15 minutes. They should be lightly golden on top and fragrant without becoming dry.
Other Chocolate Chip Recipes to Try
- Chocolate Chip Waffles
- Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Mug Cake
- Chocolate Chip Cake
If you try this Chocolate Chip Scones recipe please rate it and leave a comment below to help other bakers. Tag @olivesnthyme on Instagram so I can see your bakes! – M
Chocolate Chip Scones Recipe
Megan
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Equipment
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2 mixing bowls
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1 whisk
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1 pastry cutter (optional)
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1 large baking sheet
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Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (300 g) all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons (141 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 large egg (cold)
- ½ cup (120 ml) cold heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (170 g) mini chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) heavy cream for brusing the tops
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) sugar for topping, optional
Instructions
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder and salt together until well combined. Grate or toss very small cubes of cold butter into the flour. When all the butter has been added in, use a pastry cutter or your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse sand with some larger pieces.
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In a separate bowl, lightly whisk an egg. Whisk in the cold heavy cream and vanilla extract until combined. Make a well in the dry mixture and add half the wet ingredients, folding gently. Add the remaining wet ingredients and fold in chocolate chips. Mix just until the dough comes together.
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Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Press and fold the dough to form a 7–8 inch disk about 1 inch thick. Place the disk on parchment and chill in the freezer for 20–30 minutes.
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While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Remove the disk, cut into 6–8 wedges, and space them about 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle sugar if desired.
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Bake at 425°F (218°C) for 14–16 minutes until lightly golden. Allow scones to cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a rack or serving warm.
Notes
Serve: These scones are lovely with maple butter or whipped honey butter.