Hot Chocolate Scones for a Chilly Morning

This is my first blog post as I realized that recipes on Instagram are sometimes hard to follow (and I have no idea how to categorize). I am excited to kick this off because this first recipe is simple, delicious, and feels downright decadent.

I woke up this morning to a winter wonderland of white. Snow came in the night (and it is still snowing now) and our few days of 70 degree weather have ended. Since R has a swim meet and I want to make sure she has good energy today, I thought that some delicious and easy scones were the way to go. Seeing as January is here, pumpkin didn't feel like the right direction, but my new recent mocha kick in the mornings inspired this Hot Chocolate Scone Recipe. Simple ingredients with a kick of some spices reminiscent of my favorite Indian foods give this a not too sweet, just right flavor that warms you up and tickles the taste buds. You can adjust the spices as you like and you can use any hot chocolate powder you want (I'm currently obsessed with the Sillycow Farms, which are vegan (though not marketed that way) and CRAZY delicious. I found them at Ideal Market the other day and am super happy about it! For today's recipe, I used the Marshmallow Swirl flavor.

RECIPE

Ingredients

For the Scones

- 3 cups all purpose flour (white or if you want whole wheat, use 1.5 cups each)

- 1 tbsp. baking powder

- 1 tsp. salt

- 6 tbsp. sugar (I use coconut sugar to lend it a caramel, less sweet flavor)

- 3/4 cup coconut milk (the kind you drink, not the kind in a can)

- 1 tsp. spice mix (I used freshly ground star anise, cinnamon, cardamom and coriander - ground them all together in a coffee grinder that I now use only as a spice grinder)

- 1 vanilla bean (if you don't use vanilla beans, which are fantastic - you scrape out the black insides and use only that paste you scrape out - you could use 1 tsp. vanilla extract)

- 1 tbsp. hot chocolate mix of your choice

For the Hot Chocolate Glaze

- 1 cup powdered sugar (preferably sifted, but no biggie if not)

- 1 tbsp. melted coconut oil

- 2 tbsp. coconut milk (same kind as above)

- 1.5 tsp. hot chocolate mix

Instructions

1. Preheat Oven to 425 degrees (F). Prepare a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicon pad (my favorite). Also prepare a dough kneading area with flour on it so you can have a place to knead, shape and cut the scones.

2. In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, spices and hot chocolate powder.

3. Mix in the coconut milk and stir (wooden spoon, metal spoon, in the KitchenAid if you want) until thoroughly mixed and pretty sticky.

4. Turn the dough out onto your kneading surface (you might need a rubber spatula to scrape it out of the bowl). Lightly knead the dough until it isn't super sticky and you can form into a disc that is about 8 or 9 inches across (and about 3/4 of an inch thick).

5. Using a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut the dough into equal triangular pieces. I recommend 8 pieces, but you could do as many as 12.

6. Put the triangles on the prepared sheet (or two sheets if need be) and put in the oven.

7. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until they have risen nicely and are starting to brown. WHILE IN THE OVEN, START ON THE GLAZE.

8. In a bowl, add in the sugar, hot chocolate, salt and milk. Mix well with a small whisk or a fork until smooth.

9. Add the melted coconut oil and mix until it is smooth and shiny. If you have lumps (because the oil cooled when you added it to the mix), put in the microwave for 15 seconds and then whisk more until shiny.

10. Put this in the fridge until ready to glaze the scones. NOW CHECK THE SCONES.

11. Remove the scones from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before moving to the glaze.

12. Using a spoon, put glaze on top of each scone. If it is thick, spread it all over. If it is runny, don't worry! Mine is always runny.

13. SERVE, EAT, ENJOY.

#Baking #Scones #Brunch #Chocolate #Breakfast #Vegan