These Chocolate Hazelnut Scones are buttery, nutty and chocolatey - a delicious combination. Butter and heavy cream create a tender scone, and the combination of toasted hazelnuts and chunks of chocolate create a great treat for breakfast or an afternoon snack.
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Why This Recipe Tastes Good
For this ultimate chocolate and hazelnut scone recipe, I wanted to bring together the richness and sweetness of the scone with the taste of really good chocolate. Grating frozen butter into the flour and giving the dough a few folds helped the scones rise. The frozen butter and heavy cream contribute to making this a great tasting chocolate scone recipe. And if you like lemon check out my Lemon Poppy Seed Scones.
Chocolate Hazelnut Scone Ingredients
Scones are made with these eight ingredients:
- All-Purpose Flour: 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour is the usual amount for my scone recipes. I recommend weighing the flour to ensure you don't have too much
- Light Brown Sugar: The brown sugar complements the chocolate hazenut flavor combination. You can substitute with an equal amount of granulated sugar, but brown sugar is best in this recipe.
- Baking Powder: The baking powder provides rise and lift.
- Cold Butter: My typical recipes use 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter. The butter adds flavor and makes the scones flaky, tender, and helps them rise.
- Heavy Cream: Cream adds flavor and a cakey texture. I use 1 1/2 cups of cream, but you can use more or less depending on the feel of the dough.
- Dark Chocolate: Bittersweet chocolate tastes great with the richness of the scone and the hazelnuts. Chopped chocolate bar melts and tastes better than chocolate chips.
- Toasted Chopped Hazelnuts: Hazelnuts and chocolate always go well together. Make sure that the hazelnuts are toasted to a dark brown, but not burnt.
- Kosher Salt: Enhances the other flavors
- Ground Cinnamon: Adds flavor. Use your favorite spice.
How to Make These Scones
These chocolate hazelnut scones are a quick and easy treat. Great for breakfast or an afternoon treat. The day before I make the scones I put the butter in the freezer.
I originally started out making chocolate chip scones, but added chopped hazelnults and found that chopped chocolate was better than chocolate chips.
For this recipe use a large bowl to mix the ingredients so you have plenty of room to mix the dough without knocking ingredients out of the bowl.
Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together. Use your fingers to break up any clumps of brown sugar. Use a box grater to grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture and then use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour.
Create a well in the middle of the flour/butter mixture and pour the heavy cream into the center of the well. With a spatula stir the cream into the dough. The dough will start to come together, but there will still be some flour at the bottom of the bowl. Dump the dough onto a lightly flour surface and lightly knead the dough by folding the dough in half about 3 to 4 times.
Once the dough has come together form an 8-inch circle. Sometimes I use an 8-inch cake pan as a template to make sure the circle is even. Then use a sharp bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 wedges. You should see bits of butter throughout the dough. Place the 8 scones on a small tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Press additional chopped chocolate and toasted chopped hazelnuts into the unbaked wedges of the scones.
Place the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush them with an egg wash to promote browning. Bake the scones in a 400°F oven until they are golden brown, about 22-25 minutes. I don't add a glaze to these scones, but if you like scones with a little icing check out my Cardamom Brown Sugar Scones.
The scones taste great warm from the oven. Serve them with really good butter. They're best if eaten they day they're made, but can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Pro Tips for Making This Scone Recipe
- Use frozen butter and cold heavy cream for a better rise
- Don't overmix the dough. Mix it until just comes together (a few dry bits are okay) before folding the dough.
- Chocolate chunks instead of chocolate chip will melt better when the scone is baked and taste better with the other ingredients
- Use a sharp knife or metal bench scraper for cutting the dough into 8 pieces
- Chill the scones for at least 30 minutes before placing them in a preheated oven.
Recipe - Frequently Asked Questions
If your scones are hard then you may have overmixed them. Lightly mix the dough until it just comes together. The dough will be lumpy and shaggy looking.
For this recipe I do not recommend substituting the equivalent amount of baking soda. There is not enough acid in this recipe to activate the baking soda and the scones may end up tasting bitter.
Yes, the scones can be frozen. After they are cut into wedges, lay them on sheet pan or cutting board in a single layer, freeze them, then place them in a freezer bag. They can be frozen unbaked for 1 month. Bake them directly from the freezer and add a few minutes to the baking time.
More Breakfast Treats and Ideas
If you're looking for more carb ideas for your breakfast I've got plenty of delicious ideas. Here are just a few of my favorites:
- Apple Spice Streusel Muffins
- Homemade Pecan Cinnamon Rolls
- Strawberry Lemon Doughnuts
- Toasted Coconut Doughnuts
If you've always wanted to make scones at home or have been looking for a good recipe then you definitely want to make these Chocolate Hazelnut Scones. They're easy to make and you'll enjoy the results. If you make them please leave a comment below. And if you take a picture and post it to Instagram tag me @bakesbybrownsugar and #bakesbybrownsugar.
Chocolate Hazelnut Scones
Ingredients
Scones
- 2 1/2 cups (315 grams) all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup (63 grams) light brown sugar
- 8 tablespoons (114 grams) unsalted butter frozen
- 3-1/2 ounces (100 grams) bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 1/3 cup (55 grams) toasted hazelnuts chopped
- 1-1/2 cups (252 grams) heavy cream cold
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
Topping
- 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Coarsely chop the hazelnuts. Reserve some of the half pieces (about 16) to decorate the top of the unbaked scones. Chop the chocolate into a combination of small and large (1/4-inch) pieces. Reserve come of the large pieces to stick into the top of the scones after they are cut, but before brushing them with egg wash.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and brown sugar to a large bowl and whisk the ingredients together for about 30 seconds. Use your fingers to break up large clumps of brown sugar.
- Use a box grater to grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Use your fingers to toss the butter and flour together and combine. Add the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate and toss with the butter and dry ingredients.
- Form a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add the heavy cream and use a silicone spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the cream. The dough will start to come together and be slightly sticky.
- Lightly flour a board or your countertop and turn the dough out onto the surface. Press any remaining bits of flour into the dough by folding the dough over in half and pressing it together. Do this about 4 times.
- Form the dough into an 8-inch circle. If you want a perfect circle, use an 8-inch cake pan or plate to get an even circle. Place the cake pan on top of the dough to check the width. Cut the dough into 8 wedges. Press the reserved pieces of chocolate and hazelnut into the top of the scones. Place the scones on a plate and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
- At this point the scones can be frozen. Place them on a sheet tray and freeze. Once frozen, store them in a freezer bag. They will be good in the freezer for 1 month. When ready to bake them, bake them straight from the freezer, no need to thaw them first.
Baking the Scones
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place the scones on a half-sheet baking tray lined with parchment paper. Whisk together the egg and milk. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash. Bake for 23-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the scones have increased in height. The interior temperature will be about 200 degrees F.
- If baking scones straight from the freezer add about 5 minutes to the baking time.
How to Serve
- Serve the scones plain or with additional butter and a some honey.
Storage
- The scones are best the day they are baked, but will keep for 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container.
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