Tag Archives: Scones

Mini Chocolate Chip Cream Scones, for two

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In case it’s not obvious, I love mini treats. I love being able to eat something and barely feel the guilt as it passes my lips. These scones are just mildly sweet – a little hot spot of warm gooey chocolate in a flaky delicious dough. One of my top 3 favorite desserts. And they can be eaten as breakfast, so even better!

I could make these scones every single day and eat them all. And they disappear so easily… I don’t know HOW that happens. Maybe we have scone-stealing house elves. Fortunately, this recipe makes just 12 2-bite scones. Perfect for 2 or 3 people. Or 1 person over 2 days. Or 1 person and 2 house elves. Whatever works for you.

These are a delicate confection with a soft-crisp exterior. Very similar to handmade biscuits – the small pieces of cold butter are what create the flaky, air-pockety qualities in scones. Much like in croissants, I imagine. Whereas, in cookies, the butter is softened before being added and creates a different texture entirely.

They’re best warm from the oven and the quality quickly goes downhill if you eat them even the next day. Good warm but, as Hermit learned (0r I guess, didn’t learn) with chocolate chip cookies, when someone (his sister) says “Careful, they’re hot”, and when you feel  melty chocolate  burning your hand,  DON’T pop the cookie in your mouth as a way to stop it burning your hand. ❤

And the best thing, if you want to make these for a crowd, the recipe easily doubles or triples. Work people devoured these when I tripled the recipe one morning. I want to try making them dairy free (for Hermit) although I don’t have much experience baking with margarine vs. butter.

What are your favorite desserts? If you’re reading this, leave a comment and let me know what you think 🙂

Mini Chocolate Chip Cream Scones

Printable Recipe

Adapted from Small-Batch Baking; makes 1 dozen mini, 2-bite scones

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 5 tbsp. butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips (regular will work too, but not as well. Plus, the minis are so cute!)
  • 1/4 cup half-and-half
  • 1 egg yolk
  • approx. 2 tsp. additional granulated or large-grain/raw sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Method:

1. Place rack in middle and preheat oven to 375°; grease a small/medium baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 2 tbsp. sugar, baking powder, and salt.

3. Using a pastry blender, two butter knives, or your fingertips, cut the butter cubes into the dry ingredients until the butter pieces are no bigger than peas.

4. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. With a fork, mix half-and-half and egg yolk into mixture until just combined.

6. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead 5-6 times, just until a ball has formed. Be careful not to over-mix or over-knead.

7. Using a sharp knife or a dough cutter/lifter, cut the dough in half. Lightly flour your hands and gently pat each ball into a disc about 1/2-inch in height. Cut each disc in half and then each half into thirds. You’ll have 6 roughly-equal wedges/scones from each disc.

8. Carefully transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet, spacing equally apart; at least 1-inch between scones.

9. Bake in preheated oven for 13 – 14 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden and the tops have just barely started to become golden.

10. Remove scones to a cooling rack. Let cool 5 minutes and enjoy immediately – be careful, the chocolate is piping hot. Best served fresh.

11. To serve again (warm), pre-heat oven to 350°, wrap the scones loosely in aluminum foil and heat on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes. The outside should crisp up and taste almost as good as the first day.

Bite-Sized Cinnamon Chocolate Scones

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I seriously love these things. They’re one bite of crumbly, chocolaty, soft perfection. Yum! I’m kind of addicted to baking mini portions. Just a little addicted (heh, get it? mini, little…). Scones, pies, cookies, cakes… yup, addicted to mini versions of all of those.

These little guys are adapted from Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers. I love these Small-Batch Baking books – you can eat an entire recipe (or share with your husband, if you do that sort of thing…) and not feel horrible. Also, it helps not having multiple dozens of something sitting around the house.

The original recipe is for 3 regular-sized scones. I made 12 bite-sized scones because they’re so much prettier and delicate. And because I can.

I hear people either like cinnamon with chocolate or they don’t. Hermit said they were ‘dry’ tasting because of the cinnamon. I loved them though. It adds another dimension of flavor I think.

Bite-Sized Cinnamon Chocolate Scones

Printable Recipe

Scones:

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 2  tbsp. cold unsalted butter, diced
  • 1 tbsp. well-beaten egg (note: There are about 4 tbsp, or ¼ cup, in one beaten egg)
  • 2 tbsp. heavy (whipping) cream
  • 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • Coarse sugar, to sprinkle on the tops (optional)

Cinnamon Chocolate Glaze:

  • 3 tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tsp. unsalted butter
  • 2 tsp. hot water
  • 1 tbsp. powdered sugar
  • 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

Making the scones:

1. Preheat oven to 375°, place rack in middle of oven. Cover a small baking sheet with parchment paper or grease well. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse a few times: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. (My food processor bowl was in the dishwasher so I did this the old-fashioned way. If you also don’t have a food processor handy, you can whisk the ingredients in a medium bowl.)

3. Add the butter pieces and pulse until coarse-looking crumbs form. (… Or incorporate with a pastry blender or two knives. )

4. Place the mixture in a medium bowl and create a well in the center.

5. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, cream, and vanilla until blended. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Gently mix with a fork just until combined – you do not want to over mix. Your mixture should still look a bit “crumbly”.

6. Lightly flour a work surface and your hands; form two equal-sized balls with the dough. Place the dough balls on the floured surface and gently form two discs 1/2- to 3/4-inches in height. With a butter knife or pastry chopper, cut your discs in half and then in thirds, so you have 6 equal pieces.

7. If desired, sprinkle the scones with coarse sugar. With a sharp-edged spatula, gently transfer the scones to the prepared pan and space evenly. Bake the scones until they feel dry and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 9-11 minutes.

Making the Chocolate Glaze:

1. Add the chocolate chips and butter pieces to a small, microwave-safe bowl; microwave 30-45 seconds on 50% power, until soft but not melted entirely. Whisk with a fork until smooth. Add hot water until combined; add the powdered sugar and cinnamon and mix until smooth.

2. Pour the chocolate mixture into a zip-top plastic bag; force the mixture to one corner and secure the top by twisting and holding in place. Cut a small piece off the corner of the bag and drizzle chocolate over the scones. Or spoon it right over the top, all gooey and messy. I’m too much of a perfectionist to do this. I need my deserts to be pretty before I devour them.

Scones are best eaten the same day, either warm or room temperature. And they’re really good if you eat them all in the same day. What? There are only 12 bize-sized portions. I totally didn’t eat them all the same day. It took 2 days for that. Hermit had one or two. I think.