Chocolate Chips Scones

I was surprised to find that I don’t have a recipe for chocolate chip scones on here yet. I mean, I made pear and chocolate chip scones and then ginger and chocolate chunk scones, but not plain chocolate chip. So of course I had to remedy that with this recipe! We all loved it, but then again, chocolate chips for breakfast are an easy sell.

2 cups (250 g.) all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
½ cup (1 stick; 115 g.) lactose-free butter, frozen (or very cold)
½ cup lactose-free cream, plus an extra 2 Tbsp. for brushing
½ cup (100 g.) packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 heaping cup (180 g.) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
coarse sugar for sprinkling on top before baking (optional)
confectioners' sugar for topping after baking (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 °F. Adjust baking rack to the middle-low position. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Grate the frozen butter. (You can do this by hand or with a food processor, but as I like using the food processor instead of a bowl and a fork or pastry cutter to mix scone dough, I cut corners and cut the butter into little cubes instead.) Toss the grated butter into the flour mixture and combine it with a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk ½ cup lactose-free cream, the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract together. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and then toss the mixture together with a rubber spatula until everything appears moistened. Mix in the chocolate chips. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can and transfer to a floured surface. Press into a neat 8″ disc and cut into 8 equal wedges with a very sharp knife. Place scones at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Brush scones with remaining cream, then sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired (it adds some nice crunch!).

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Sprinkle lightly with confectioners' sugar, if desired.