Yesterday was Mother's Day here in the UK. As promised, I made my family (specially dedicated to my mom, of course) a lavish brunch consisting of a feta/mushroom/spinach quiche with a hashbrown crust, a baked apple pie pancake with homemade salted caramel, these amazing (out of this world, to die for, knock-your-socks-off, every positive adjective!) orange chocolate scones, and greek yogurt and homemade fresh strawberry sauce parfaits.
This post is the first of recipes in this brunch series. It also happens to be my favorite.
THESE SCONES ARE SO GOOD YOU HAVE TO MAKE THEM! I promise you won't regret it.
And what's more? The hardest part of this recipe is grating the orange zest. Fresh orange zest and fresh orange juice are the essence of these scones. Don't be lazy and use stuff from the supermarket - your scones won't be as good! Plus, fresh = healthier, right? Seriously though. Also, use some good quality dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips - the kind that get all melty and delicious when baked, the kind that are so rich and full of chocolatey goodness.
Chocolate and orange are a killer flavor combination. I used to be a non-believer in this match made in heaven, but these scones were one of the things that helped convert me. The tanginess, bitterness and zestiness of the orange combined with a creamy, richness of the chocolate - wow, now that's a winner!
If that wasn't enough to convince you, here's two more things that may get you on-board. Firstly, my non-sweet-toothed dad ate two large scones. Now that may not seems significant, but it's a huge deal... and that, too, combined with all the other brunch goodies! Secondly, I am shamelessly (not really) admitting that we wiped the entire batch of scones clean in a single sitting... Yup, we still ate all the rest of the food as well! They were that good.
If that wasn't enough to convince you, here's two more things that may get you on-board. Firstly, my non-sweet-toothed dad ate two large scones. Now that may not seems significant, but it's a huge deal... and that, too, combined with all the other brunch goodies! Secondly, I am shamelessly (not really) admitting that we wiped the entire batch of scones clean in a single sitting... Yup, we still ate all the rest of the food as well! They were that good.
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup unrefined sugar
freshly grated zest of 3 juicing oranges
5 tbsp cold butter
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
4-8 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
pinch of granulated sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 200 C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Sift the flours and baking powder and mix in the sugar and orange zest.
Next, cut in the butter in small cubes using a knife or pastry cutter and mix into the dry ingredients until it resembles course crumbs the size of peas. Don't overmix with your hands as the butter will melt and large chunks of cold butter are what make scones light and moist!
Add in the chocolate chips.
Lastly, tablespoon by tablespoon, mix in the orange juice until the scone "dough" is just holding together. If you add too much liquid, the scones won't be scones - they'll be muffins!
Transfer the dough to the baking tray and form a large circle. Gently press down with your hands until it is around 3/4-1 inch thick. Cut into 8-10 triangles.
Sprinkle with some granulated sugar.
Bake for around 15-18 minutes, or until the top looks a beautiful golden brown.
Wait for them to cool, and enjoy!
Like all scones, these taste best on the first day, so don't worry about eating them all! I won't tell...
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