Espresso Chocolate Scones with Walnuts

Chocolate scones are for rainy mornings. They are meant for grey afternoons, or for a cozy night, with a cup of tea.

Everything about a scone takes me straight to a winter day. Might be snowing outside, it might even be the coldest day of the year. Whenever I’m faced with such a day, you can almost bet I’m going to bake some scones.

And it was a day like that when I decided to bake these Espresso Chocolate Scones with Walnuts I present to you today.

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chocolate scones

I make scones quite a bit, from savory to sweet.

That’s because making scones can be fairly easy. All you need is a basic scones recipe and you alter it as you add the ingredients to your liking.

For sweet scones, you can mix in dried or fresh fruits. You can add nuts, spices like cinnamon, cardamom, or nutmeg. You can make it chocolate, caramel, or anything you love under the sun.

For savory ones, it’s like making an omelet: whatever is in your fridge. Chopped herbs, peppers, different types of cheese, meats, garlic and these sorts of things. Chop it up, mix it in the dough, bake it and enjoy it. My favorites are jalapeño cheddar, or garlic and sun-dried tomato . I’ll eat them with the delicious soup that’ll been simmering on my stove.

The secret for making a good scone is in the little details.

Don’t ever overmix your dough. Knead the scones dough by using a method called pat and fold, which means you will sort of incorporate your dry and wet ingredients in a bowl by mixing carefully with a spatula.

After they have been almost completely incorporated, transfer the mixture to a floured counter and proceed to cut the mixture in half and place one half on top of the other. Pat it down gently with your hands. Cut it in half again and fold, by placing one half on top of the other. Repeat this process a few times until you don’t see any streaks of flour in your dough.

This is the safest method for kneading scones and biscuits dough and not ending up with a tough and dry final product.

What I really love about scones, though, even more than eating a bowl of piping hot delicious soup alongside with it, is when I make these espresso chocolate scones and have them with coffee. It might be because I’m getting a double dose of caffeine, might be the chocolate drizzle that enchants me. I eat them when they are just cooled. That’s the best time to eat a scone, in my opinion.

Next time it’s raining or snowing outside and it’s a chill winter or fall day, open your pantry, open your fridge, gather simple ingredients and make it a day to remember by baking unforgettable scones!

And since we are talking about scones, here’s a picture of my Cheddar, Garlic and Jalapeño scones. I don’t have a recipe for it on the blog yet! But soon I hope to make them again!

cheddar garlic jalapeno scones
strawberry scones with lemon glaze

Strawberry Lemon Scones if you’re after a sunny scone!

orange almond sweet rolls

Almond Orange Sweet Rolls.

Espresso Chocolate Scones with Walnuts

Espresso Chocolate Scones with Walnuts

These Espresso Chocolate Scones with Walnuts are rich and chocolatey.
5 from 10 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 8 scones
Calories 300 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp espresso powder
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter cold (8 tablespoons)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces bittersweet fine quality chocolate chopped you can use chocolate chips, if you will
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Chocolate glaze
  • 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
  • 1/4 cup half and half

Instructions
 

  • Start by chopping the cold butter into 0.5 inch pieces. Stick chopped butter in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, start to gather the other ingredients.
  • In the bowl of a food processor, place flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pulse a few times to combine the ingredients.
  • In a measuring cup or a cup with a spout, place egg, beat it slightly. Add heavy cream, vanilla and whisk everything to combine.
  • Add chopped frozen butter to the food processor. Process about 8-10 times until butter is cut into dry ingredients. The mixture should resemble coarse meal. You don’t want to see really large pieces of butter. If you see pea sized pieces of butter, you will want to process the mixture a few more times.
  • Transfer this mixture to a large bowl. Add wet ingredients to flour and butter mixture. Then add the chocolate chips and walnuts, and fold carefully to combine. Once mixture is more or less incorporated, transfer it to a lightly floured counter. Now you are going to use a method of folding biscuit/scones dough that is called pat and fold.
  • Cut the mixture in half and place one half on top of the other and pat it down back to its original size. Cut it in half and place one half on top of the other once again. Do this a few times until dough is smooth and you see no streaks of flour. Be careful and gentle when patting and folding because scones dough isn’t supposed to be overworked or you will have a tough final product.
  • You will have a shaggy and sort of wet mixture. You can lightly flour your hands to better handle the dough, but don’t use too much flour either, because you don’t want to add more flour to your dough or, again, you might end up with tough results.
  • Pat the mixture into a 8” circle. Use your hands to shape the outside of the circle and try to smooth it out as you pat the mixture.
  • Using a sharp knife, cut the dough disk into 8 wedges, like a pizza. Carefully and with floured hands, transfer each scone to a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat or lightly greased parchment paper.
  • Make sure scones are 2 inches apart from each other.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 375F.
  • I usually will stick my scones in the freezer while the oven pre-heats because I want my butter to be very cold once I start baking the scones.
  • Bake scones for about 20 minutes. You can test if it’s done by inserting a toothpick in the scone, it it comes out clean means it’s baked. Don’t overbake your scones or they will be tough and dry.
Chocolate Glaze
  • Let scones cool down and glaze with chocolate glaze. I like to put the glaze in a piping bag and cut the tip with a pair of scissors, just a tiny hole so I can create a beautiful drizzle.
  • Mix half and half and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave them together in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until all chocolate is melted.

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44 Comments

  1. You continue to slay me, my dear friend!! Every day I check my front porch for a delivery package that says, “From Camila” with a delicious treat-shaped heart on it! I will continue to check…I’m fiercely loyal like that… 🙂 🙂

  2. 5 stars
    I love the idea of having chocolate scones on a rainy night with tea, just so comforting. This recipe is easier than I thought. Thanks for sharing!

  3. I was just looking for a scone recipe! to be honest, I usually like a simple,, plain scone but this chocolate scone looks heavenly!! Chocolate and espresso is a magical combination.

  4. 5 stars
    I would love to make these scones. I think this would be a nice treat for the weekend. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

  5. Hi,

    These sound great, and maybe I’m missing something obvious, but where’s the espresso hiding in this recipe?

    Amy

    1. Hello, Amy! Thank you for pointing it out. Of course I left behind one of the stars of the show! I’ve updated the recipe! 1 teaspoon of espresso powder!! Have a great day! 🙂

  6. This is my first recipe I have tried of yours. There is no mention on when to add the walnuts and chocolate pieces. Is the amount of flour correct? Mine was so wet I could not fold- I had to add much more flour- I would say it was at least a half to 3/4 of a cup more. Your other scone recipe called for 2 1/2 cups of flour= most I’ve done are at least 2 cups. The flavor is delicious– I just think the recipe needs to be checked – or let me know what why you think it turned out more like a fudge consistency than it should.

    1. Hi Julie I will definitely re-check the recipe!!!
      Sorry about that!!
      I do like my scone dough on the wet side, but it shouldn’t be fudgy!
      I will check this recipe. Back then I didnt use to put the measurements in grams and that really can make a difference. So I will go back to this recipe and take a look at it.
      Thank you!

    2. Hello Julie, I have fixed the recipe, I reduced the heavy cream, and added more flour. I made it twice to be sure and making it a third time this upcoming week, and coming out with a video and new pictures. So sorry the recipe was wrong before. Thanks for your patience and for pointing it out to me.

      1. Thank you so much Camila! I can’t wait to try them again! I love all your recipes and videos! The make me so happy and inspired!!

  7. Just like Julie, my dough was WAY too wet. It was just slightly stickier than brownie batter 🙁 I followed the recipe to the letter and they just didn’t turn out. I am a baker by trade so this was such a bummer! Any suggestion?

    1. Ohhh I think it would have to be a completely different recipe. I would have to actually make it to find out. I can add it to my list and try sometime next month. I will report back.

  8. Thank you!! This recipe made scones that remind me of my favorite ones from a bakery! Finally! All the care & detail on the preparation definitely pays off and makes a lovely scone.

  9. 5 stars
    Absolutely great deep chocolate flavor! I am planning on giving these (frozen with instructions for baking) for Christmas so I did a test batch and froze it overnight right after I cut it. They taste so great but I honestly didn’t get any kind of rise out of them. I followed your pat and fold method and only did it 3-4 times then shaped and cut. Any suggestions?
    Thanks, your recipe is in my recipe box now!

    1. That’s super lovely that you’re doing that for your friends!! Anyway, to get a good rise, you should place them very close together before baking, this way they will expand upward instead of outward.

  10. 5 stars
    Very tasty! I ended up using 1 2/3 c flour based on other scone recipes, and even then the dough was very stiff so I added 2 more T of cream. I also used semi-sweet chocolate chips.

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