The Best Chocolate Chip Scones Recipe (2024)

Sweet, but not too sweet, and studded with plenty of chocolate chips, this Chocolate Chip Scones recipe is my a yummy breakfast treat or afternoon pick-me-up snack! Made with pantry staples and ready in just about 30 minutes, be prepared to share the recipe with your friends because everybody will be asking for these buttery Chocolate Chip Scones!

There is just something about eating a scone that makes me feel posh. Even thinking about them brings out my inner Great British Baking Show side and I start tossing out the terms I know from watching British television. Sure, I make American style scones, but they are no less delicious! Some other favorite scone recipes are these amazing Triple Chocolate Scones, perfect for chocolate lovers, and Maine Wild Blueberry Scones which really pop with color and flavor!

I can't get enough of scones lately! They're such an easy snack, breakfast or dessert to whip up in just minutes, and I don't think anything beats sipping on some tea with a freshly baked scone and tucking into a book in the afternoon. Total bliss!

Chocolate chips seem to always be floating around our pantry, so I took my basic scone recipe and threw a few chocolate chips in to see how they turned out. It actually happened when I was trying to troubleshoot my blueberry scones and wanted to isolate the scone dough itself without the berries, which I knew were adding moisture. Chocolate chips came to mind for the perfect quick mix-in for a test batch and they were so scrumptious I couldn't not share them on here.

This recipe for Chocolate Chip Scones is sweet, but not too sweet, and perfectly buttery. They are ready in just over 30 minutes, which means they are perfect for a weekend breakfast or brunch. It always amazes me when a recipe that is SO good comes together so quickly. I'm a fan!

We especially like to have Chocolate Chip Scones for an afternoon treat after a long day of distance learning. I'll make a batch and freeze half for later to have an extra breakfast or snack on hand at all times.

Chocolate Chip Scones are also great to have pre-made and frozen when you want something a little sweet after dinner but don't want to make anything from scratch. Just fetch one of these from the freezer, heat it in the microwave until it's thawed, split it open, and spread some butter or Nutella (sshhh!). So easy!

What You'll Need

As long as you have cream in the fridge, you will probably already have everything else needed for this recipe in your pantry at home.

• Flour: Plain, all-purpose flour is best for these Chocolate Chip Scones! When measuring flour, it’s best to spoon it into your measuring cup and scoop it off the top. Never pack the flour into your measuring cups.
• Baking powder & baking soda: Baking powder and baking soda work together to lift the scones while they bake so they are light.
• Salt: A little salt helps make all the other flavors pop and keeps the scones from tasting bland.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar gives a nice, subtle sweetness to the scones. Then coarse sparkling sugar is sprinkled on top for more sweetness and crunch. If you decide to make the optional glaze, you will need a little powdered sugar as well.
• Butter: The secret to really excellent scones is to use very cold butter. I even stick mine in the freezer so it’s super cold and easy to grate.
• Cream: Using this ingredient instead of milk adds wonderful richness and flavor to the scones.
• Egg: An egg helps bind everything together.
• Vanilla extract: I almost always use a little Homemade Vanilla Extract in my baked goods for the best overall flavor.
• Chocolate chips: Either semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips are the perfect addition to this Chocolate Chip Scone recipe. You could even use milk chocolate, but they are noticeably sweeter than the other options.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Scones from scratch

1. Prep the oven and baking sheet. Firstly, preheat the oven to 400°F and then line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Not only does the parchment paper help with clean up, but it also makes sure the scones don't stick to the pan.
2. Mix dry ingredients. Secondly, in a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
3. Grate the butter. Next, grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater, then cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter. If it's warm in your kitchen, I recommend popping the bowl in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to keep the butter really cold.

4. Whisk wet ingredients and make dough. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture with the chocolate chips, stirring with a fork or spatula to moisten the dry ingredients into a very shaggy dough.
5. Fold & knead. Turn out the dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Use the parchment paper to lift and press the scone dough together. It's a sort of modified folding and kneading and made much easier with the parchment paper, plus this helps avoid too much heat from your hands softening the butter.

6. Shape the dough. Pat the dough into a circle approximately 8-inches in diameter. Use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 8 triangle-shaped scones, then space them out on the parchment paper.
7. Brush and sprinkle. Brush the tops of each chocolate chip scone with cream, then sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
8. Bake! Bake for 20-22 minutes until golden brown on top. Take care not to overbake so you don't end up with dry scones.
9. Glaze. Finally, make the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, cream, vanilla, and salt together in a bowl, then drizzle over the cooled scones.

How do I store these Chocolate Chip Scones?

The best way to store them is in an airtight container on the counter, which will keep them from drying out. Make sure the chocolate chip scones have cooled completely before storing them so they don't turn mushy! The chocolate chip scones will keep well for up to 3 days.

Why is scone dough so wet?

We keep the dough nice and moist in this recipe because it helps the scones have more flexibility to rise better. Scones are notorious for drying out easily, so by using a slightly wet dough, they can bake properly in the oven without fear of the end product being hard and dry.

To glaze or not to glaze? That is the question.

When it comes to scones, I'm definitely in favor of glazing them. It's not an imperative step and definitely makes them skew more in the realm of dessert, but a simple vanilla glaze not only sweetens these chocolate chip scones a bit, but it also provides the most beautiful finish that makes them irresistible.

Can you freeze scones?

Yes! These chocolate chip scones will freeze well after they've been baked and cooled. Store them in an airtight container like a freezer bag for up to 3 months, and reheat them in the microwave. Perfect for a quick and easy make-ahead breakfast option!

They don't freeze and reheat as well after being glazed, so if you know you are unlikely to eat all of the scones in the first couple of days, I recommend leaving it off the ones you don't plan to eat right away. The good news is that you can freeze the glaze separately with the scones in a ziploc bag. Then when you are ready to reheat and enjoy, just let the glaze thaw on the counter, snip off the corner of the bag, and glaze the scones to enjoy.

More Chocolate Chip Recipes Like This

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
• Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie for Two (Pizookies)
• Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie
• Easy Copycat Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies