Chocolate Hazelnut Scones

If you see me drinking coffee- chances are three quarters of the day you will- you'll probably see me with some kind of morning pastry with it. It doesn't have to be super sweet or laden with frosting. I actually prefer something on the drier side. I love the chocolate walnut scones from La Brea Bakery, chunky and full of shards of chocolate it's more like a hockey puck but you know it's substantial when you bite into it. Scones remind me of baked ice cream, the way you can swirl almost anything through the dough is just like how you swirl stuff through ice cream...see I'm not crazy.

I guess what I'm getting at is how forgiving scones can be. Fruit is always a good thing to throw in but you can even experiment with some savory ideas. Rosemary, sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese are all great additions to the scone dough. Since it's chocolate season right now and having an abundance of hazelnuts from an earlier recipe fail, I wanted scones. Giving the coffee shops three bucks every some days just gets annoying. Scones are easy to make, quick to bake and you probably have every ingredient in your kitchen already! Just make sure to handle the dough minimally and don't knead it like you'd do to a ball of bread dough. Leave the rolling pin in the drawer and gently pat the dough into a circle about an inch and a half high. I like to place my scones tight together on the baking tray which helps them butt up against each other as they bake. Hopefully nice high scones will be the result.


Recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut scones: adapted from King Arthur Baking

Prep Time- 15 minutes    Bake Time- 15 minutes    Yield- 8 scones


1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch pf salt
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, beaten
1/2-3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
4 ounce bar chocolate, chopped into chunks
Melted chocolate for drizzling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking tray with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.

Blend the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles crumbs.

In a small bowl mix the vanilla, egg and milk. Add to the dry ingredients along with the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chunks. Mix gently only until combined.

Dump the dough onto a well floured worktop and form it into a ball. Pat the dough into a disk shape and cut into eight wedges.

Place the wedges on a baking tray dusted with a little cocoa powder keeping them close together. Bake for about 15 minutes. Let cool and drizzle with some melted chocolate.