Chocolate Strawberry Scones

So I had had just about enough of the stresses of work and the drama that comes with friends that never left behind the high school mindset. I had to do something. Something fun. Obviously, I had to bake a scone! Pulling together a homemade pastry dough is honestly one of my all time favorite baking activities. Many home cooks are intimidated by pie crusts, biscuit dough, and the like, but I am here to tell you that it's really quite simple and fun!

With it being summer time, I thought it only fitting to take advantage of strawberry season. And in a small attempt to live on the edge, I decided I would throw in a handful, or five, of chocolate chips. I've effectively devised a way to eat chocolate covered strawberries for breakfast. Who couldn't love that?

I started by sifting together flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar. Brown sugar, as opposed to white, has certain caramel undertones that I find particularly delectable in a scone. Of course, no pastry dough would be complete without plenty of butter! I find that a pastry cutter is incredibly helpful when working the butter into the flour and sugar mixture. Once the ingredients began to resemble the looks of a bowl full of grated parmesan, I gradually worked in a measuring cup full of eggs, vanilla, and heavy cream. Finally, I jazzed up the dough with a bunch of chopped strawberries, semi-sweet chocolate, and white chocolate. At this point, I had a temporary moment of insanity and neglected to chill my dough. Chilled butter results in a fluffy and flaky scone, so while my scones tasted fantastic, they were a bit flat... In any case, I floured up my kitchen counter and began rolling out the dough to about a quarter of an inch. After forming somewhat of a rectangle, I decided to spread half of the dough with a thick coat of strawberry preserves. Carefully, I folded the dough onto the jellied piece. Using a knife, I cut up scone-sized triangles and placed them each on a baking sheet. And just like that, the scones were ready for baking. For an extra bit of shimmer, I brushed each scone with cream and dusted the tops with sugar.

These chocolate, strawberry scones are absolutely divine. The sweet chocolates compliments the tart strawberries nicely and the preserves keep the scone deliciously moist. If you aren't one for strawberries, you could easily substitute fresh blueberries or perhaps dried cranberries. Butterscotch chips are also a wonderful alternative to chocolate chips; the butterscotch draws out the molasses, brown sugar flavor.

Whatever delectable fruit you decide upon, you will certainly enjoy this recipe. It's definitely a crowd-pleaser.








Chocolate Strawberry Scones

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sticks cold butter, cubed
• 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup strawberries, chopped
• 3/4 cup strawberry preserves
• Additional heavy cream and sugar in the raw for dusting

Sift flour sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, work the chilled butter into the flour mixture until the flour has the consistency of bread crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, eggs, and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, gradually incorporate the cream mixture into the flour. Avoid over-working the dough. Mix the chocolate chips and strawberries into the batter. Refrigerate the dough for at least thirty minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Flour a flat surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough out into a quarter of an inch rectangle. Spread the strawberry preserves onto one half of the dough. Fold the other half of the dough on top of the preserves. Using a knife, cut the dough to the desired shape and size. Place each scone onto a greased baking sheet roughly an inch apart. Brush each scone with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes until the scones are golden brown.

Makes 20 scones.