Chocolate Orange Scones
Delicious vanilla scones studded with chocolate orange pieces - crisp outside, tender inside, and easy to make ahead or freeze for winter mornings.
Servings: 8
Calories: 366kcal
Equipment
- pastry cutter
- bench scraper
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)
- ½ cup sugar (100 grams)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 8 tablespoons butter (113 grams; cold and diced)
- ½ cup chocolate orange or other orange-flavored chocolate (about 80 grams/2.75 ounces, or half of a chocolate orange; chopped)
- ⅔ cup milk (150 grams)
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (5 grams)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the cold, diced butter and toss it with the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut the butter into the flour until only some pea-sized lumps remain.
- Stir in the chopped chocolate orange.
- Add milk, a lightly beaten egg, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Use a fork (not a spoon) to stir the dough, lightly pushing the flour and liquid together. You want to be gentle here. Mix until there's only a little flour left in the bottom of the bowl.
- Use your hands to gently knead the dough. I do this in the bowl, although you can use a lightly floured surface instead. Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the dough, then fold the dough in half on top of itself. Pat the dough down gently if you need to. Repeat this process 6 times.
- Lift the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Your dough will likely be pretty wet. Pat it into a 1-inch tall circle, about 7-8 inches in diameter. Sprinkle with a little sugar if desired. Use a bench scraper or knife to cut the circle into 8 scones.
- Optionally, chill the scones for 15-30 minutes to allow the dough to firm up, creating a better rise and less spreading when they bake.
- Place the scones apart on a silicone mat- or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 375F for 18-22 minutes. The scones will be golden along the edges, and a toothpick inserted into the middle of one will come out clean as long as it doesn't hit chocolate.
- Serve warm or at room temperature; scones are best the day they're baked. Store leftovers in an airtight container, and reheat briefly (8-10 seconds in the microwave) when serving.
Make Ahead
- After cutting the scones, place them, separated, on a lined baking sheet. Chill the dough, and bake as normal the next morning.
- Alternatively, freeze the scones, then to a freezer bag. Label with baking instructions, and freeze for up to about a month.
- To serve, bake frozen scones at 375F for 20-24 minutes, directly from the freezer, without thawing.
Notes
Cold butter gives scones better rise and less spread. If your dough is too warm, you can optionally chill your scones for 15 minutes before baking.
You can use milk or dark chocolate in this recipe.
If you need to make this without an egg, simply omit it and add an extra 1-4 tablespoons of milk or cream to the dough.
If the dry flour isn't incorporated into the dough halfway through kneading, add another teaspoon or two of milk. A slightly wet dough is better than a dry dough.
Scone dough should be handled gently. Do not overmix or overknead.
Scones are the best the day they are made. I recommend only baking what you need, and freezing the rest of the dough as in the Make Ahead section.
Calorie count calculated in MyNetDiary and is an estimate only.
Recipe updated slightly 1/9/2026.
Nutrition
Calories: 366kcal
