Buttery, flaky, and filled with the flavors of chocolate and cinnamon, these chocolate chip buttermilk scones with cinnamon streusel are unapologetically indulgent.
The all-butter dough comes together quickly in a food processor, and includes a magical super simple trick to create extra flaky, bakery worthy layers. The result is a scone with a crisp, buttery exterior and a soft, tender interior that quite literally melts in your mouth.
This recipe includes make ahead and freezing instructions.
I have 8 of these babies in my freezer right now and I've resolved to never, ever, be without them. I am not even joking.
My friend Judy sold me on how lovely it is to keep some essentials in the freezer. She keeps balls of chocolate pecan cookie dough and blueberry pie cookies (in which she substitutes her homemade fig jam) at all times.
This means you can pop round for a visit and she just might magically present you with a warm, fresh baked cookie.
I love this so much that I now do the same. I also like to keep a few frozen, uncooked buttermilk biscuits and dinner rolls in there because I always want homemade bread but I am certainly not going to make it every day, or even every week.
And now, do you know what's nestled in there with the biscuits and rolls and cookie dough balls? You guessed it. Individually wrapped chocolate chip scones.
These are rich without being heavy, sweet without being cloying, and the kind of thing that makes an ordinary morning (or afternoon!) feel special. AND having a few in your freezer means you can enjoy a warm, chocolate studded, cinnamon streusel topped scone any time you like.
xo
-Rebecca
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Ingredients needed to make these scones
- All purpose flour
- Buttermilk makes these scones extra tender and flaky.
- Granulated sugar for the scones and brown sugar for the streusel
- Butter: salted or unsalted, it's up to you. If you are sensitive to salt, or just don't like a lot of salt in your baked goods, use unsalted.
- Baking powder, baking soda, and salt
- Chocolate chips: I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but if you'd rather use milk chocolate, go for it.
- Ground cinnamon in the streusel is SUCH a delicious compliment to the chocolate in these scones.
- Vanilla extract: A generous amount of vanilla intensifies the flavor of the chocolate and rounds out the warm flavor of cinnamon.
Additions and substitutions
- To make gluten free chocolate chip scones, swap out the all-purpose flour for your favorite brand of one-to-one gluten free flour. My favorite brands are Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour and King Arthur Gluten Free Flour.
- If you want to add some additional texture and a bit of crunch, mix in some chopped roasted nuts along with the chocolate chips.
- Add some dried fruit! Dried cranberries, cherries, or chopped dried apricots are fabulous in these scones. Mix the dried fruit in along with the chocolate chips.
- No buttermilk? No problem. Here are 7 great substitutions for buttermilk.
- To make vegan chocolate chip scones, use vegan butter, vegan chocolate chips, and any kind of plant based milk instead of the buttermilk. The acid in buttermilk creates an extra tender texture in these scones. For the same effect, simply stir a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice into whatever plant based milk you're using.
Step-by-step photos and instructions
Don't let the length of these instructions scare you off. The process of rolling and folding the dough goes quickly. The number of photos here are just for clarity and clear instruction. Once you understand the basic process, it will only take about 10 minutes to roll and fold the dough, and shape it into scones.
Pro tip: How to prepare your workspace
I find it very useful to prep my workspace before I even begin. Follow these steps to make the process easy and more enjoyable:
- Set a piece of parchment paper, about a 12-inch square, somewhere on your countertop. You'll use this piece of parchment paper to roll and shape the dough.
- Set a small bowl with about ½ cup of flour, a rolling pin, a flat spatula, and a large knife nearby.
- Pour the chocolate chips into a bowl and set them near the parchment square.
- Pour the heavy cream into a small bowl and set it nearby. If you have a pastry brush, set that next to the cream (don't worry about it if you don't have a pastry brush; you can use a spoon or your fingers).
- Once you've made the streusel, set it within arm's reach of this workspace.
Start by making the streusel: simply combine flour, sugars, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl then blend in some softened butter. Cover and set aside.
It's very important to use very cold butter to make the dough for these scones. So, cut the butter into small pieces and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
Add the cold butter to the dry ingredients. Pulse just until you don't see any pieces of butter that are larger than a pea.
Stir the vanilla into the buttermilk and then pour it into the dough. Pulse just until the mixture forms a loose, shaggy, slightly sticky dough, then dump the whole mess out onto a piece of parchment paper.
Gently knead the dough a couple of times to bring it together then pat or roll it into a rough 8-inch circle.
Sprinkle the dough with ⅓ of the chocolate chips and gently press them into the dough.
Fold one side of the dough to the center of the circle.
Fold it over again so the chocolate chips are completely enclosed. A flat spatula can be very helpful to help lift the tender dough.
Turn the dough a quarter turn so it rests horizontally in front of you.
Now repeat this process: Roll the dough out in to an 8-inch circle, press another third of the chocolate chips into the dough, fold one side of the dough to the center of the circle, fold the dough over once more so the chocolate chips are enclosed, and turn it so the dough rests horizontally in front of you.
Turn the dough so it's horizontal and compete the process for a third and final time, using the remaining chocolate chips.
Roll the dough into an 8-inch circle.
Brush the surface of the dough with heavy cream.
Top the dough with the cinnamon streusel, squeezing it together with your fingers to form some clumps.
Cut the circle of dough into 8 triangles (or 6 triangles if you'd like to make larger scones).
Set the 8 scones on a parchment lined plate, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.
OR - instead of placing the scones in the refrigerator, wrap each one individually, and place in a freezer bag or another airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
When you are ready to bake, place the scones on a parchment lined baking sheet and into an oven that's been preheated to 375°F (190°C). The scones should be baked straight from the refrigerator or freezer.
If frozen, there is no need to thaw. In fact, the scones will bake up even higher when baked from frozen!
Bake the scones in the center of the oven until the look set, the streusel has spread and is beginning to look a little bit crispy, and the bottom of the scones is a light golden brown.
Top tips for tender, flaky scones:
- Use very cold butter
- Work as quickly as you can to mix the dough, roll and fold the dough, and shape the dough into scones. It's important that the butter in the dough remains cold and doesn't start to melt. If your kitchen is very warm, you may want to refrigerate the dough right after mixing, then resume rolling, folding and shaping the dough once it's well chilled.
- It's important that the scones be very cold before baking. Refrigerate the unbaked scones for at least 3 hours, or freeze them, then remove them from the refrigerator or freezer right before placing them in the oven to bake.
- Scones are best freshly baked but will keep at room temperature, well wrapped, for up to 24 hours.
A few more recipes for chocolate chip lovers
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to rate this recipe and leave a comment for me.
Happy baking!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones with Cinnamon Streusel
Buttery, flaky, and filled with the flavors of chocolate and cinnamon, these chocolate chip buttermilk scones with cinnamon streusel are unapologetically indulgent.
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon streusel:
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
For the scones:
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour + plus more for rolling and shaping
- 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ¾ teaspoon table salt)
- 8 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup buttermilk (more if needed)
Instructions
- Make the streusel: Combine the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix together. Using a spatula, spoon, or your fingers, rub the softened butter into the dry ingredients until all the ingredients are moistened and the mixture holds together if you squeeze it. Cover and set aside.
- Chill the butter: Cut the butter into small pieces and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes. It's important that the butter is very cold, but not frozen solid.
- Prepare your workspace: Set a piece of parchment paper, about a 12-inch square, somewhere on your countertop. You'll use this piece of parchment paper to roll and shape the dough. Set a small bowl with about ½ cup of flour, a rolling pin, a flat spatula, and a large knife nearby. Pour the chocolate chips into a bowl and set them near the parchment square. Pour the heavy cream into a small bowl and set it nearby. If you have a pastry brush, set that next to the cream (don't worry about it if you don't have a pastry brush; you can use a spoon or your fingers). Place the streusel within arm's reach of this workspace.
- Make the scones: Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
- Remove the cold butter from the freezer and add it to the bowl of the food processor. Pulse until you don’t see any pieces of butter larger than a pea.
- Stir the vanilla into the buttermilk and then pour it into the dough. Pulse just until the mixture forms a loose, shaggy, slightly sticky dough. Dump the mixture out onto the prepared parchment square. Use your hands to knead the dough a couple of times to bring it together.
- Lift up the ball of dough with one hand and dust the parchment with a light dusting of flour. Set the dough back down onto the parchment and pat or roll it into a thick 8-inch circle. *Throughout the rolling and folding process, use just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking; try to use as little as possible.
- Sprinkle the dough with ⅓ of the chocolate chips and use your hands to press them gently into the dough. Fold one side of the dough to the center of the circle, then fold the dough over once more so the chocolate chips are enclosed. Lift up the dough and turn it so it's positioned horizontally in front of you. (*See the photos above for clarification; use the flat spatula to help lift and fold the dough.)
- Repeat this folding process two more times: Roll the dough out into an 8-inch circle, sprinkle with another third of the chocolate chips, press the chips into the dough, fold one side of the dough to the center of the circle, fold the dough over again so the chocolate chips are enclosed. Lift up the dough and turn it so it's positioned horizontally in front of you. Repeat once more, using the remaining chocolate chips.
- Shape into an 8-inch circle. Brush the top of the dough with the heavy cream. Top the circle of dough with the streusel, using your fingers to squeeze it together to form small clumps and pressing it gently into the top of the dough.
- Cut the circle into 8 triangles (or 6 if you'd like to make larger scones).
- Set the scones on a parchment lined plate, cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. OR, wrap the scones individually in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag or other air-tight container and freeze for up to three months.
- When ready to bake, heat the oven to 375° F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set the scones on the parchment lined baking sheet, straight from the refrigerator or freezer, and place in the center of the oven. Bake for 23 to 35 minutes, until the tops of the scones are a light golden brown. (Bake time will depend on how thick your scones are and whether they have been refrigerated or frozen.)
- Remove the pan from the oven and use a spatula to place the scones on a wire rack. Allow them to cool slightly, then serve.
Notes
- Having individually wrapped scones in the freezer means you can bake as many or as few as you like whenever you like!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 sconeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 476Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 499mgCarbohydrates: 70gFiber: 3gSugar: 20gProtein: 8g
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