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.
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 40 minutesminutes
Servings 8scones
Ingredients
3 cupsall-purpose flour
1/4cupgranulated sugar
1tablespoonbaking powder
1/4teaspoonsalt
5tablespoonsunsalted buttercold, and cut into small pieces
1cupchocolate chips
1cuphalf-and-halfplus extra for brushing
1teaspoonalmond extract
turbinado sugarfor 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.