Ginger chocolate chip scones
A while back, The Food Librarian blogged about ginger scones she made that she really loved. I’m not a huge fan of ginger, though I’ve started to like it in my desserts in small quantities. She used crystallized ginger in her ginger scones, and I didn’t have any crystallized ginger.
I looked for the ginger at Trader Joe’s but couldn’t find it. I finally found some at William Sonoma. As I set about making my scones, I was worried that no one would eat them but me because my family is not a fan of ginger at all. So I thought I’d add some chocolate chips to the batter, to mask the taste of the ginger.
I’ve made cream scones before, but this recipe came together so wonderfully. The dough was so easy to work with. Up until now, I’ve only liked scones that use fresh fruit. But I really enjoyed these scones. And I love how easy the dough was to work with. It wasn’t too crumbly. It came together well, and I didn’t even really need anything to shape my scones.
The scones tasted a bit like chocolate chip cookies. I felt like the chocolate did a good job in hiding the ginger. You could only taste a hint of it. At least for me. But maybe if you really hate ginger, you’ll notice. The next day, Boyfriend emailed me at work to say “Why are there gingers in my pastries??” Doh. I guess I didn’t hide the ginger as well as I thought I had.
Ginger Chocolate Chip Scones
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsbp baking powder
- 1 tsp finely chopped lemon zest, about 1/2 lemon (I left this out)
- 1 1/2 sticks (6-oz) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
- 4 1/2 oz candied ginger, finely chopped into 1/4-inch pieces to equal 2/3 cup
- 3/4 cup heavy cream, plus extra for brushing the tops of the scones
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder, and pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the lemon zest and butter, and pulse on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is pale yellow and the consistency of fine meal.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the ginger and chocolate chips. Make a well in the center and pour in the cream. Using one hand, draw in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Wash and dry your hands and dust them with flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently knead a few times to gather it into a ball. Roll or pat the dough into a circle about 3/4 inch thick.
- Cut out the circles, cutting as closely together as possible and keeping the trimmings intact. Gather the scraps, pat and press the pieces back together, and cut out the remaining dough. Place the scones 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (The dough was so easy to work with, you can just shape by hand. Or to make triangles, you can make one big circle and cut into slices. I used my nordicware mini scone pan.)
- Brush the tops with the remaining cream. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, until the surface cracks and they are slightly browned.
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I’ve seen the uncrystallized one at TJ. I almost bought it but I was afraid I wouldn’t like it and then be stuck with a whole bag of it. You should definitely try these scones. Cream scones are so easy to make esp if you have a food processor. And I really liked the ginger in the scones.
I love ginger, so I’m going to try these scones. I haven’t seen crystallized ginger at Trader Joe’s recently, but they sell uncrystallized candied ginger, which I prefer. I think crystallized means it is coated in sugar. The uncrystallized candied ginger is kind of lumpy and not as sweet. I sure hope they still carry it!