Sour Cream Scones with Chocolate Chips

I remember the first scone I ever had. It was cinnamon chip, it was dense and tough, and I wasn’t a very big fan. For a long time, I went on believing that I didn’t like scones.

My husband, however, loves them. More often than not, it’s what he’ll order when we go out for coffee. I’d always decline when he offered me a nibble of his — saving my calories for whatever baked good I had chosen for myself. This all changed when, one day while out on a bike ride with his friends, he brought one home from our favorite bakery, demanding that I try it. I knew this scone had to be different. Why? He a) saved it for me and didn’t eat it himself and b) brought it home in the back pocket of his cycling jersey.

So, despite its smashed, slightly unappetizing appearance (from the bike ride), I tried it. And it was good. Not overly sweet, but very buttery and biscuit-like. “Is this what I’ve been missing out on this whole time?” I asked myself. Did my first scone encounter completely ruin it for me? Needless to say, I now know how awesome scones can be. I’m officially a convert.

I made these scones for my husband as a special weekend treat. He’s an accountant and has been working a ton lately (including Saturdays — hello, tax season!), so I wanted to do something nice for him. He gave them a rousing thumbs up, so they must be good. And I liked them, too. The sour cream is an especially nice touch.

Sour Cream Scones with Chocolate Chips (makes 6 – 8 scones)

Adapted from Cookie Madness

What you need:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on top
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold and cut into small cubes
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

How you do it:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
Add the cubes of butter to the flour mixture and using your fingers or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until flour mixture is very coarse.
In a small bowl, whisk sour cream, egg and vanilla until smooth. Use your hands to work the sour cream mixture into flour mixture until the dough starts to come together. Lightly kneed in the chocolate chips. Once the dough completely comes together, turn it onto a clean surface and shape it into a 7-inch flat circle. Cut the circle in half, then cut each half into 3 or 4 triangles, making a total of 6 or 8 scones (I made 6).
Put on a baking sheet, sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake until golden. For 6 scones, this will take 20 – 22 minutes. For 8 scones, it’ll take about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.