Maple Chocolate Chip Scones

My source of inspiration for making scones was Amy's Healthy Baking triple chocolate scones. She’s great at making healthier sweets. I tried her Greek yogurt version—tasty and kid-approved—but I really wanted that classic dry, crumbly scone texture. So I tweaked things and came up with the recipe below. It skips the yogurt but still keeps things lighter than traditional scones—without sacrificing flavor or texture.

A perfect scone in my mind should be dry with a slightly soft center, somewhat crumbly but holds together and has a buttery taste to it when it hits your taste buds. Scones in general are typically lightly sweetened so aren't as heavy as other pastries but can be covered with a light glaze to add sweetness.

Yes. Make sure you're using parchment paper to line your baking sheet or silicon baking sheets - I love my silicon baking sheets and use them all the time. I haven't had burnt bottoms in years and they are less hassle and obviously reusable as compared to parchment paper. If you don't have them, I recommend buying them as a set with a baking pan otherwise you can run into issues with them fitting (or not fitting as the case may be) into your baking pan.

You'll need to gather your dough. Scones are dry by nature. That's part of their charm and what creates that melt-in-your-mouth effect. This does, however, make the dough very dry and will seem a but unusual if you're used to other types of dough. At the final stage, after adding the chocolate chips, the dough will still appear crumbly. Using your hands, you will need to gather up the crumbs and press them together until you form a ball of dough. Then you'll be able to press the ball flat and ultimately cut it before baking it.

This is tricky! They don't puff up as much as other pastries so the best way to tell if they are done is to look for a touch of golden brown color. This is hard when you're using cocoa powder though since that tint the color of the dough. So, the next best tell is to tap them with a fork and if they sound hollow, this indicated they are done. You want to be careful not to over cook them or they will become too dry, crunchy and not at all soft in the center.

Unlike biscotti, scones are really not supposed to be hard. They are dry, yes. But soft in the center, and the outside should be firm but not crunchy.
Biscotti, for comparison, is intentionally hard and dry because it's meant to be somewhat re-hydraated by dipping it into your coffee. Many times they have chocolate icing that melts into your coffee. If you want to try making biscotti, you can check out my easy chocolate almond biscotti recipe.

Yes! I love just a hint of cocoa powder in these. It gives the dough a richer flavor. However, it's an extra ingredient you might not have on hand. So it's totally fine to completely leave it out. No adjustments needed.

Yes. You can drizzle, you icing on using a piping bag or you can submerge your cooled scones in icing for more of a glazed finish. You can also enjoy these cones without icing. They are still very yummy on their own. Your choice!