½cup(43g)natural unsweetened cocoa powder (see note)
¾cup(159g)granulated sugar
2teaspoonsbaking powder
½teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonsalt
¾cup(170g)cold salted butter
1cup(170g)semisweet or dark chocolate chips, regular or mini size
1 ¼cupsbuttermilk (see note)
1teaspoonvanilla extract
2tablespoons(28g)butter, melted
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling (see note)
Glaze:
¼cup(21g)cocoa powder
¾cup(86g)powdered sugar
2-3tablespoonsmilk or cream
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
For the scones: in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the butter into the dry ingredients. Toss to combine so the butter pieces are evenly coated with dry ingredients.
(An alternative to the box grater is to cut the butter into pieces, add to the dry ingredients and then cut in with a pastry blender or two butter knives until butter is in pea-size pieces. The dough can also be mixed in a food processor.)
Add the chocolate chips; toss to combine. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract.
Mix with a rubber spatula until the dough starts to come together. Don't over mix! A few dry spots are ok. To test, press a handful of dough together. If it clumps together, it's good to go. If it's falling apart, add a few more tablespoons buttermilk.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a long rectangle, about 15X3-inches. Cut into 10-12 triangle wedges.
Place on a baking sheet about 1/2-inch apart. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until just set and no longer doughy (err on the side of under baking just slightly if you aren't sure).
Let the scones cool until lightly warm or room temperature.
For the glaze: whisk together the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Add the milk or cream and whisk until a thick but pourable glaze forms, thinning with additional milk, if needed.
Drizzle scones with glaze. Serve scones at room temperature or lightly warmed up.
Notes
Cocoa Powder: I suspect these would be fantastic with Dutch-process cocoa as well. I either use all natural cocoa powder (like Hershey's) or half natural cocoa and half Dutch-process (like Hershey's special dark or Droste).Buttermilk: I've found store bought buttermilk works better than homemade buttermilk (milk + lemon juice) because it is thicker. If wanting a homemade option, I'd suggest whisking together half sour cream/half milk. You could also try using cream in place of the buttermilk. Sugar: coarse granulated sugar or raw turbinado sugar is delightful - if you don't have those, regular granulated sugar works.