Triple Chocolate Sourdough Scones
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.I’ve never been known to turn down a really good scone. But a chocolate one – no chance! This triple chocolate scone recipe is heavenly. A rich chocolate sourdough scone dough, studded with chocolate chips, baked to perfection and then drizzled with a chocolate glaze. It’s a chocolate lover’s perfect pastry. Add in some sourdough discard and you’ve got the perfect little treat. If you’re looking for something special for a morning breakfast or celebration, these triple chocolate sourdough scones should be on your short list!
Main Ingredients in Triple Chocolate Sourdough Scones
- Sourdough Discard: In order to avoid a stronger sourdough flavor, use sourdough discard that is fresh or no more than a day or two old. I always use 100% hydration sourdough discard. If your discard is very runny, you may need a little extra flour in this recipe. Use discard cold from the fridge for best results.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder is what makes the scones rise. It is activated by the heat when baked, giving the scone a beautiful rise.
- All-Purpose Flour: Scones work best with an all-purpose flour or flour with a lower protein content (like pastry flour). In a scone recipe, the less gluten that develops, the better. This results in a more tender scone.
- Sugar: White, granulated sugar is used to sweeten the scone dough, but the scones themselves are not overly sweet. The sweetness comes through from the chocolate chips and the glaze, which uses powdered sugar.
- Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder: Using a dutch processed or dark cocoa gives these chocolate scones a rich, deep chocolate flavor. You can try making them with a non-Dutch-processed cocoa powder, though they may not be quite as chocolatey.
- Chocolate Chips: I like the rich flavor semi-sweet chocolate chips give to these triple chocolate sourdough scones. Any favorite chocolate will work, including chopped pieces of your favorite chocolate bar.
- Cream & Milk: This scone recipe uses a combination of heavy cream and milk for best results – a tender scone that melts in your mouth.
- Eggs: This recipe calls for 2 eggs. They make the scones rich in flavor and texture.
- Unsalted Butter: I always use unsalted butter in baking. You can control the flavor much better when you use unsalted butter. Salt content varies between brands of salted butter, and your baked goods may come out too salty when using salted butter. If you choose to use salted butter, decrease the salt a little bit in the recipe. Use cold, chilled butter for best results.
Grating Cold Butter
When it comes to making pastry, scones, or biscuits, one of my favorite tips is to grate the butter into the flour mixture. This works best with butter straight from the freezer or fridge. Simply grate it into a pile and add the small shreds of butter to the flour mixture. Alternatively, you can use a pastry cutter to achieve pea-sized pieces of butter throughout the flour mixture.
Mixing the Sourdough Scone Dough
Dry Ingredients: Use all-purpose flour or flour with a low protein content (8-10%) and whisk it with sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Grate in cold butter and toss everything together. Add chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) to the mixture and fluff together with a fork until combined.
Liquid Ingredients: Whisk together the cold sourdough discard (straight from the fridge) with the eggs, cream, milk and vanilla extract. The key is to get the sourdough discard as incorporated as possible. Whisk until smooth.
Mix Together: Pour the liquid ingredients on top of the dry ingredients. Use a fork to combine until the dough is moistened throughout. Knead the dough a couple of times, being careful not to work the gluten too much, just until the flour is completely incorporated. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. If it’s too dry, add a splash of milk or cream.
Triple chocolate sourdough scones get their name from the 3 types of chocolate in them: Chocolate scone dough, Chocolate chips AND Chocolate glaze. These triple chocolate scones are a chocolate lover’s dream!
Shaping Scone Dough
Pat the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Shape into a round disc, about 8 inches in diameter. Using a pastry cutter, cut the disc into quarters. Then cut each quarter again until you have 8 large scones. Separate the scones, spreading them out on the parchment paper, and place the parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Note: If you prefer making 16 scones instead of 8, cut the dough in half and make 2 smaller round discs. Cut scones into 16 smaller triangles.
Baking Chocolate Sourdough Scones
Baking scones at a high heat activates the baking powder for a beautiful rise and turns chilled butter into steamy air pockets that make the scone light and airy. Preheat the oven to 425°F before baking these scones. Bake for 14-16 minutes until puffed up, flaky and baked all the way through. It’s hard to tell if the scones are browning due to the chocolate in the recipe, but if you notice the bottoms getting too crispy, decrease the heat or place a baking stone on the rack below the scones.
Glaze and Enjoy!
While the scones are baking, mix up this quick chocolate glaze. Whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, heavy cream, milk and vanilla extract. Add a little more cream or milk if you want to thin the consistency. After the scones have cooled about 5 minutes, drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones, being sure to completely cover each scone with glaze. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftover scones are best eaten warm or within 24 hours of baking. For longer storage, I stick them in an airtight ziplock bag or container and freeze them for up to a month. Defrost and warm up a bit to enjoy.
Yes! I like to cut my scone dough and then freeze the dough. This dough can be wrapped or placed in an airtight container and frozen for up to a month. When you’re ready to bake them, pull them out from the freezer and bake from frozen. Add a few extra minutes to the baking time.
Depending on the water content in your eggs and sourdough discard, it is possible that your scone dough could be a little sticky and need a little extra flour, or a little dry and need a little more heavy cream. Add flour or heavy cream a Tablespoon at a time if needed.
Triple Chocolate Sourdough Scones
Ingredients
Triple Chocolate Sourdough Scones
- 350 grams all-purpose or pastry flour about 2 1/2 cups
- 80 grams granulated sugar about 1/3 cup
- 30 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder about 1/3 cup
- 13 grams baking powder about 1 Tablespoon
- 8 grams salt about 1 teaspoon
- 113 grams unsalted butter about 1/2 cup
- 120 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips about 2/3 cup
- 100 grams sourdough discard about 1/2 cup
- 2 large eggs about 100 grams
- 75 grams heavy cream about 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon
- 40 grams milk about 3 Tablespoons
- 10 grams vanilla extract about 2 teaspoons
Chocolate Scone Drizzle
- 100 grams powdered sugar about 1 cup
- 60 grams heavy cream about 1/4 cup
- 10 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder about 1 Tablespoon
- 15 grams Milk – whole or 2% about 1 Tablespoon
- 4 grams 4 grams vanilla extract (about 1 teaspoon) about 1 teaspoon
Instructions
Triple Chocolate Sourdough Scones
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- To a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Grate the cold butter and whisk into the flour mixture until the little pieces of butter are spread throughout and coated with flour. Alternatively you can use a pastry cutter. Add the chocolate chips and stir together until evenly dispersed throughout the mixture.
- To a separate bowl, whisk together the sourdough discard, eggs, heavy cream, milk and vanilla extract until smooth and incorporated.
- Add the liquid to the flour mixture and stir together with a fork or spoon until moistened and sticking together. If you have a lot of flour leftover in the bowl, add a little extra cream a teaspoon or so at a time until it comes together. Scone dough will resemble pie dough more than cookie dough. The key is to not over-mix it.
- Pull out a sheet of parchment paper and flour it. Turn the dough out and pat into a circular shape, about 1 inch thick.
- Using a sharp knife or a bench knife, cut the scones into eight triangular slices. This recipe also makes 16 scones if you want to cut the dough in half and make two circular shapes of dough with smaller scones.
- Place the parchment paper with the scones on it on top of a baking sheet. Separate the scones so they aren’t touching and bake the scones for 14-16 minutes, depending on how crispy you want the edges.
- While the scones are baking, whip up the chocolate glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, cocoa powder, milk and vanilla extract. Add a little more milk or cream if you want a thinner consistency.
- Once scones are finished baking, pull them out of the oven and let cool about 5 minutes before drizzling them with the glaze. Enjoy!
Deliciousness!! Thanks for sharing this recipe! 😍😋
Another great recipe Amy! Sort of a much lighter, less sweet brownie…so darn tasty! Definitely making these again.
So glad you loved these! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂
If I make this into 16 smaller scones, should the oven temperature stay the same? How would you suggest reducing the baking time?
I keep the oven temperature the same because my scones were the same thickness. If you roll them thinner, you may decrease the time a few minutes.
My granddaughters & I made these and they are delicious
Hi Amy. Can I cube the butter and mix the dry ingredients in the food processor?
Thanks!
Yes. You can do that!