Today marks the first official full week of work for me since the holidays. I recently changed my work schedule and will need to wake up earlier to go to work. While I don’t typically drink coffee too often, I did pick up some instant coffee to bring with me to work in case I needed it. Over the weekend, I was craving a chocolate treat and wanted to incorporate some of the instant coffee I had at home into the treat. One of my favorite treats I like to indulge in during breakfast on weekends is scones. I decided to make chocolate and coffee scones for breakfast. This way, I could get my chocolate and coffee fix and still have some scones remaining if I am craving scones later during the week. I have been a fan of scones ever since I took a bite out of the scones at Alice’s Tea Cup in Manhattan many years ago. Alice’s Tea Cup is one of my favorite spots to go to when I just want to spend a slow morning catching up with friends over tea and scones in the city. From my very first scone, I’ve been testing different flavor combinations over the years. Some of my favorite flavor profiles I’ve developed include chocolate chunk scones with raspberry glaze and maple lemon blueberry scones. When I made my chocolate and coffee scones over the weekend, they were so scrumptious, I had to stop myself from eating more than one. To make my scones even more chocolatey, I folded in chocolate chips into the dough prior to baking. Even though the scones already had coffee in them, I could not help myself and served my chocolate and coffee scone alongside a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
Chocolate and Coffee Scones:
For the chocolate coffee scones:
· 2 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 tablespoons baking powder
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ cup cocoa powder
· 1 teaspoon instant coffee
· ¼ cup granulated sugar
· 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
· ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
· 1 cup whole milk
For the chocolate coffee glaze:
· 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
· 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
· 1 teaspoon instant coffee
· 1 tablespoon whole milk
· ¼ - ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2) In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, instant coffee, and sugar. Add the butter. Using a pastry cutter, cut together the ingredients until the dough resembles coarse crumbs. You can also use your fingers to press together the flour mixture and butter. Add the chocolate chips and milk. Gently mix the ingredients until the dough starts to form.
3) Lightly flour a working surface. Roll dough out and gently form the dough into a circle, taking care not to work the dough too much. Once the circle is formed, cut the dough in half vertically and again horizontally. Then, cut diagonally on both sides until eight equal triangle pieces are formed.
4) Bake scones for 18-20 minutes until the scones are puffed up and cooked through. Let scones cool before applying glaze.
5) To make the glaze, combine the melted butter, cocoa powder, instant coffee, and milk in a small bowl. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar. The consistency of the glaze should be smooth, but not too thin.
6) Once the scones have cooled, drizzle on the chocolate and coffee glaze onto the scones. Let scones and glaze cool before serving.
Takeaways: If you want to make a coffee glaze instead of a chocolate and coffee glaze, you can combine melted butter with freshly brewed coffee and confectioners’ sugar. You can also increase the amount of chocolate chips into the dough prior to baking for an even more chocolatey treat.