Easy Chocolate Chip Scones

These easy homemade chocolate chip scones come together quickly from simple ingredients and make a great all-in-one snack!

These homemade chocolate chip scones are the perfect sweet, but not-too-sweet treat to pair with your afternoon tea or coffee.

American vs British Scones

I like both American and British scones. I love a simple English scone that can be topped with jam and cream and think the English style is perfect for savory scones (which are fairly similar to American biscuits).

An American scone however is the perfect on-the-go snack. It is a bit sweeter, a bit more dense, and is usually made with cream instead of milk, with a touch more butter. These scones also usually contain a sweet topping such as a glaze.

Chocolate Chip Scones Recipe Development

When I decided I wanted to make a chocolate chip scone I immediately knew my cinnamon scones recipe would be a jumping-off point. Which meant the final product would be an American-style egg-free chocolate chip scone.

I tested this recipe with both chocolate chips and a chopped chocolate bar, as well as with milk and cream. Milk or cream resulted in tender scones.

Because of the chocolate chips I found this recipe needed a touch more baking powder than my other scone recipes.

Then I needed to decide with regards to the topping. I found a chocolate ganache was a bit too much (for my taste), and that a simple sugar topping and/or a vanilla glaze was perfect with these homemade scones.

Ingredients

Here are notes on the ingredients used, please refer to the recipe card for full quantities.

Plain flour (all-purpose flour/standard grade flour) refers to flour that has a protein content of approximately 9.5-12%. Plain flour can be substituted with self-raising/ self-rising flour. Add only an additional ½ teaspoon of baking powder to the self-raising flour. Self-raising/rising flours may already contain salt so this may need to be omitted from the recipe as well

Make sure your baking powder is fresh (especially if you haven't bought some in a while) by placing a ½ teaspoon into a cup or bowl. Pour about a ¼ cup of boiling water over the baking powder. If it foams and bubbles it is still fresh.

Cream - I used fresh cream which has a milk fat content of about 35-37%, which is the same as heavy or whipping cream. However, I tested this recipe with full cream or full-fat milk, which worked great. Therefore you can use whole milk or cream up to 37% milk fat.

Butter adds flavor, softness, and moisture and sometimes aids in the leavening of baked goods. I use New Zealand butter in my recipes, which has approximately 82% butterfat and can be very yellow (similar to European or Irish butter). Butter cannot be substituted with butter or margarine spreads, but it can be substituted with baking margarine.

White sugar (granulated or caster sugar) adds sweetness and enhances the flavor of the scones.

Vanilla extract enhances the flavors of the other ingredients in this easy chocolate chip scone and makes for a perfect vanilla glaze.

Icing sugar is used to make the vanilla glaze.

Chocolate chips, chunks, or chopped chocolate bars can be used as the chocolate chip component of this scone. I preferred milk chocolate (semi-sweet) for these scones, however, dark chocolate chips (bittersweet) also work well. You can also use mini chocolate chips.

Raw or coarse sugar or turbinado sugar for sprinkling on the top of the scones for an additional crunch and sweetness.

Weighing and Measuring Ingredients

Weighing ingredients with a kitchen scale is more accurate than using measuring cups. All my recipes are developed and tested using grams only.

However, I have activated the metric-to-cup conversions. Simply click on "USA/Cups" or "metric" for your preferred measurements. For these conversions, cups are equal to 240mL/8 fl oz, tablespoons are 15mL and teaspoons are 5mL.

Reduced-Sugar Variation

For these buttery chocolate chip scones, I would not decrease the amount of sugar in the actual scone. But to reduce the overall total amount of sugar, you can skip the coarse sugar topping or vanilla glaze. Additionally, opt for dark or bittersweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate chips.

Chocolate Chip Scones Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 - Line a large baking tray/baking sheet/cookie sheet with baking paper or parchment paper. 

Step 2 - In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

Step 3 - Cut the cold butter into small blocks, and add to the flour. Rub the butter into the flour until there are only pea-sized pieces of butter left. You can also use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour, which is helpful if you have warm hands. 

Note - You can use a stand mixer and the paddle attachment or pastry blender attachment on a low speed to work the butter into the flour. 

Step 4 - Add the sugar and chocolate chips to the butter-flour mixture. Stir through with a fork. Then pour in the cream and vanilla extract. Mix together with a fork until most of the flour seems to be moist.

Step 5 - Turn out the scone mixture onto a lightly floured surface. Bring the dough together. The dough will look a bit dry, so using a bench scraper, fold the edges of the dough over into the middle. Then when it is mostly cohesive, cut the dough in half, place one half on the other, and press down. Then press the dough into a circle about 7-8 inches across, and about an inch tall. Cut into 8 wedges using s sharp knife. Transfer the dough by the large scones onto the prepared baking sheet, with approximately 2cm of space between each scone. Refrigerate the scones for 1 hour. 

Step 6 - In the last 20 minutes of the scones rest in the fridge, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. 

Step 7 - Brush the tops of the refrigerated unbaked scones with 3-4 tablespoons of cream. Sprinkle the top of each scone with about 2 teaspoons of coarse sugar. Bake for 25 minutes or until the scones are a beautiful golden brown. 

Step 8 - Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 9 - While the scones are cooling, stir together the icing sugar, vanilla, and cream. Drizzle the glaze over the buttery scones and then serve the freshly baked scones. 

Expert Tips for This Recipe

For the perfect delicious, flaky scones you need:

• Cold ingredients - make sure the butter and cream are cold. If the butter was handled a bit too much during grating/chopping into blocks or has come to room temperature, pop it into the fridge for 20 minutes before moving onto the rubbing-in stage.
• Handle the dough as little as possible, preferably with cold hands. This ensures a nice flaky texture.
• Rest these scones in the fridge for an hour before baking (or even overnight). This allows the butter and chocolate to get nice and cold.
• Preheat the oven properly. A hot oven is needed for the rise of the delicious scones.

Make-Ahead Instructions

To make these scones ahead of time, make the scones up until step 6. Cover the scones if refrigerating overnight to bake the following morning for fresh scones. Scone dough can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen.

For Mini Scones

If you want mini scones, I recommend using mini chocolate chips. Then divide the scone dough into two before shaping it into two discs about an inch tall. Cut each disc into 8 wedges. The baking time for smaller or mini scones is 15 to 20 minutes.

Ovens and Air-Fryers

The temperatures stated are for conventional ovens. For convection, fan-forced, fan-assisted, or air-fryers, the temperature must be reduced by 20°C/25°F.

For baking, make sure the oven is fully preheated, and that the rack is in the middle of the oven. Open the oven as little as possible. For best baking results use an oven thermometer.

Remember that all ovens work slightly differently and bake times may need to be adjusted for your specific oven.

Storage and Freezing

Store the cool chocolate chip scones in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, or up to 5 days in the refrigerator. They can be freshened up by popping them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds before serving. 

Baked chocolate chip scones can be frozen (in an airtight container) for up to 2 months. Allow them to defrost before warming up in the microwave. I like to heat them for 20 to 30 seconds before serving.

Scones dough can be frozen (for up to 2 months) and baked from frozen but may need a couple more minutes to completely bake through. Or thaw in the fridge overnight and follow the baking instructions on the recipe card. 

Chocolate Chips Scones FAQ