How about a warm, chocolatey, tender scone with that cup of coffee or tea? Forget about those dense "hockey puck" scones you find at some bakeries. These are absolutely delectable, tender inside, with just a little crunch on the outside from the turbinado sugar sprinkled on top. You may want more than one coffee break the day you make these! (This is adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten) Makes 8 large scones
2 cups unbleached or all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
6 ounces unsalted butter, very cold, diced
1/2 cup cold cream
2 extra-large eggs, cold and lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tablespoon cream for egg wash
Turbinado sugar
Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.
Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of large peas.
Transfer to a large bowl and toss in the chocolate chips. Combine the cream, eggs and vanilla in a measuring cup and beat until well-combined. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients in the bowl and combine with a large spoon or spatula until there are no streaks of flour and the dough is well-mixed. Do not over-mix!
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and using your floured hands and a bench scraper, turn the dough over, flour, then flip back over. (This dough is very tender, so be gentle and work quickly to avoid creating tough scones.) Quickly pat the dough out into a circle about 10-11" across, flouring the board and the top as needed. Flour a chef's knife and cut into 8 equal triangles, flouring the knife between cuts. Using a broad spatula, transfer the scones to parchment lined baking sheets. Brush all over with the egg wash and sprinkle liberally with Turbinado sugar.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until well-brown and crusty outside, and cooked through.
Remove from baking sheet to a cooling rack. Serve warm!
