Fantastic Chocolaty Chocolate Scones

I have been in a chocolate mood lately, a result of stress for me and not fluctuating hormones.  Fortunately, I came across this article: Eating more chocolate associated with fewer cardiovascular events.  Well, of course , I had to make something with chocolate for my heart, preferably with some butter and cream.  And sugar.  It was all for my heart, you see.

So I whipped out the recipe for Double Chocolate and Cherry Scones with Crème Fraiche and Cherry Preserves from Baking Obsession, one of my favorite blogs.  Because I had no idea where my dried cherries were, and I needed a chocolate fix fast, I omitted them and substituted chocolate chips for the chocolate chunks.  I needed the full amount of cream, including the optional 2 tablespoons to pull the dough together.

These were freaking fantastic.  Even my husband, who likes chocolate but prefers other flavors, thought they were amazing.  Definitely on the repeat list.  And if I could give one bit of advice, use a really good cocoa.  I used Pernigotti

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, which is absolutely amazing.

Chocolate Scones
Adapted from a recipe by Vera of Baking Obsession

Makes about a dozen scones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder (use a good quality cocoa)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 4 tbsp (2 oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 oz semisweet chocolate chocolate chips
• 1 cup whipping cream, cold
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• About 2 tbsp whipping cream for brushing

Preparation:
Center an oven rack and preheat the oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Place this baking sheet onto another one to protect the bottom of the scones from overbaking. Set aside.
Over a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter pieces into the bowl and, using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the mixture until it is evenly distributed and no large pieces of butter are visible. Add the chocolate chips, mix to combine. Combine the whipping cream and vanilla extract in a glass measuring cup, whisk. Add to the dry ingredients and stir with a fork until the dough comes together. If the dough seems too dry to you, add up to 2 tbsp of whipping cream, adding it gradually; too much liquid will cause the scones to spread in the oven.

Transfer the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface or parchment paper (I don’t like to use flour with the chocolate dough, so I prefer the parchment). Knead the dough lightly (you do not want to overwork the dough), and pat the dough into a disk, approximately ½ – inch thick. Cut the disk into 10-12triangles.  Transfer the scones onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with the remaining 2 tbsp of the cream, sprinkle sugar over the tops if desired.

Bake the scones for about 14-15 minutes, until well risen and the bottoms are browned. Mine took about 20 minutes.  Cool the scones on the baking sheet on a rack for several minutes, then transfer to the rack to cool until slightly warm. Split the scones in half, fill generously with crème fraiche and cherry jam, and serve.  Or just devour them plain!

The scones can be formed in advance and frozen unbaked. Bake without defrosting; just add a few minutes to the baking time.