These delicious chocolate chip cookie scones have brown sugar, ground oats, and an extra dose of vanilla for a rich cookie flavor!
Grind your rolled oats using a bullet blender or food processor, if you haven't already. (See notes for instructions if you don't want to grind your oats.)
Mix together flour, ground oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Cut your stick of butter into small cubes, then dump it into the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or two knives criss-crossed to cut the butter into the flour into small pieces. Some can be small, and some can be large. Stir in chocolate chips.
Use a fork to mix in the yogurt (start with ⅔ cup) and vanilla. Mix only as much as needed for ingredients to be moistened. A little leftover dry mixture is fine and even good, but add a little more yogurt if necessary.
Divide the dough into 2 balls and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. (If the dough is sticky, use extra flour on your work surface.) Knead the dough 6-7 times by folding it in half; this is how I usually work the tiny bit of dry ingredients into the dough.
Pat the dough into discs about 6 inches wide and 1 inch tall. Pat 1 ½ tablespoons of brown sugar onto the top of each disc, then cut each disc into 8 wedges.
Separate the wedges and place on a parchment- or silicone mat-lined baking sheet. Bake at 375F for 14-20 minutes, until golden brown along the edges.
To bake on a later date, make the scone dough, and shape, sugar, and cut the scones. Separate the unbaked scones and place on a waxed paper- or parchment-lined plate or baking sheet. Freeze for a few hours, or up to overnight.
The next morning, bake the frozen scones at 375F for 16-22 minutes, directly from the freezer.
For longer storage, place scones in a freezer-safe bag. Be sure to write instructions and the date on the bag. (I'm sure to so that my husband can make me fresh scones for breakfast on the weekends!) Scones should keep for a month or two in the freezer if sealed well.
For ground oats: measure out 2 cups of rolled oats, then grind them in a bullet blender or food processor. 2 cups of rolled oats = 1 ½ cups once ground.
I have not tried this recipe using oat flour found in grocery stores, but I assume it would work.
To make this recipe without grinding oats, make it with 2 cups of quick-cooking rolled oats. Freeze the unbaked scones overnight before baking. This lets the whole oats absorb liquid and firms up the dough; otherwise, the scones will spread.
If your dough is too sticky, roll it around in the flour on your work surface before kneading; this will work a little extra flour in to firm up the dough. Or, something I haven't tried: make the scones as the recipe says, and try freezing them for 15 minutes before baking.
I've only tested this recipe by weighing ingredients. Volume measurements are approximate.