Chocolate chip–orange scones

5
Points®
Total Time
30 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
10 min
Serves
24
Difficulty
Moderate
Enjoy this delightful morning treat with hot cup of joe or herbal tea. Serve them as mid-morning snack or with fresh fruit or yogurt as part of a meal. Here, a basic dough is loaded with chocolate chips and orange zest and the cooked biscuits are dipped in a sweet powdered-sugar and orange glaze once cooled. The classic combination of semisweet chocolate and orange is fantastic, but you could use white chocolate chips instead. These scones are great for making ahead. Place the unglazed scones in a zip-close plastic bag and freeze. To serve, let thaw at room temperature, then prepare the glaze and dip the tops.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour

2 cup(s)

Sugar

¼ cup(s)

Baking powder

1 tsp

Baking soda

¼ tsp

Table salt

¼ tsp

Unsalted butter

3 Tbsp, cut into pieces

Semisweet chocolate

4 oz, (1/2 cup)

1% low fat buttermilk

¾ cup(s), lowfat 1%

Egg

1 large egg(s)

Orange zest

1 Tbsp, (about 1 orange)

Powdered sugar (confectioner's)

1 cup(s)

Orange juice

4 tsp

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray.
  2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. With a pastry blender or 2 knives used scissor-fashion, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs with some small pieces of butter remaining. Stir in the chocolate chips. Whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest in a small bowl. Add to the flour mixture and stir just until a dough forms.
  3. Gather the dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Lightly knead 2 times. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to 3⁄4-inch thickness. With a 1 1⁄2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds, dipping the cutter into flour between cuts to prevent sticking. Place the scones on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Gently gather the scraps; reroll and cut out more scones, making a total of 24 scones. Bake until golden brown, 10 – 12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet on a rack until warm, about 10 minutes.
  4. Stir together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice in a small bowl until smooth. Place a sheet of wax paper under a rack. Dip the tops of the scones in the glaze; place, glaze side up, on the rack. Let stand until the glaze sets, about 1 hour. Yields 1 scone per serving.