I’ve always loved scones … specifically, blueberry scones with a hot cup of coffee on a Sunday morning before the rest of the house wakes up. I made scones once and marvelled at how easy they are but I haven’t made them again. I decided I was going to make Chocolate Chip Scones. With two healthy boys who are extremely active, I knew I’d need a double batch … 6 scones wasn’t going to cut it! Here’s the recipe, provided by Diane LaFurno of College Point, New York …

Chocolate Chip Scones

1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons cold butter
1 egg
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
½ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1.     In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly.

2.     In a small bowl, combine egg and cream; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.

3.     Turn onto a floured surface; knead gently 6-8 times. Pat into a 6” circle. Cut dough into 6 wedges. Separate wedges and place 1” apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Diane LaFurno is right … these are delicious served warm with butter. As always, I use salted butter and in this recipe my pinch of salt was generous. I just love that salty-sweet combination.

I tend to cut butter into chunks but when I’m trying to get a crumbly texture for biscuits (or scones), I find I have to use my hands and then the butter gets soft. This time, I shaved the butter and it was very easy to get the consistency I wanted using my pastry cutter … I resisted the urge to stick my hands in!

Today we’ve got a double-hitter … another scone bake! As my oldest son was eating the Chocolate Chip Scone (and literally purring), he told me how much he loves scones. My youngest chimed in that scones are his favorite too, specifically cheese scones. Okay, how did this Mother of the Year not know this?! Since baking is my love language, I had to spring into action and find a cheese scone recipe and my taste of home baking book did not disappoint. Here’s a recipe from Edna Hoffman of Hebron Indiana …

Heart-shaped Cheese Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons milk

1.     In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Stir in cheese. In a small bowl, combine the egg, sour cream, oil and milk. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients; stir in egg mixture just until moistened.

2.     Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead gently 10-12 times. Pat out to 1/3” thickness. Cut with a floured 3” heart-shaped cutter. Place 2” apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 425F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

I’m not normally a fan of cheese scones. I find them a little plain. But these were excellent! They have a nice salt content and the sour cream and milk make them oh so creamy. I didn’t cut them into heart shapes. Instead, I prepared a more conventional scone … I patted the dough into a circle and cut it into 6 scones. The 3 teaspoons of baking powder made them nice and big. This recipe is now in my “go to” list.

What does Norma say about these Cheese Scones?

I was in away on a visit to La Belle Province when this scone bake was “going down”—so, I will leave it to the family to let you know the verdict 🙂

TEMPTATION LEVEL out of 10: The chocolate chip scones were sweet and salty with a fluffy crumbly texture, perfect in the morning with a hot drink! The cheese scones had a similar texture and a nice savoury salty taste. The large boy said, and I quote “they were my most favoritest ones”. High praise for a delicious 8 out of 10!