TRIPLE Ginger Chocolate Chunk Scones
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(slightly adapted from Brianna Holt at Tandem Coffee+Bakery)
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons cold buttermilk
1 Tablespoon very finely grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 Tablespoon) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
1/2 cup roughly chopped bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 large egg, beaten
Make the scones:
Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, nutmeg, salt and pepper. In a one cup liquid measuring cup or a small bowl, stir together the cold buttermilk, grated ginger and orange zest.
Into a food processor, add about half of the flour mixture, and scatter the cold butter cubes over the top. Pulse until the butter is the size of large peas, 10 to 12 pulses. Alternatively, you could skip the food processor and cut the butter into pea sized pieces into the flour with 2 knives or a pastry blender. Transfer it to the bowl with the remaining flour mixture. Add the chocolate and crystallized ginger, then toss with your hands or a large spoon until evenly combined.
Pour in all of the buttermilk mixture, and toss just a few times, making sure to scrape up the flour in the bottom of the bowl, until the liquid is absorbed and no dry, floury bits are left. The mixture will be quite crumbly and will not form a cohesive dough.
Lightly dust your work surface with flour, turn the mixture out onto it. Gather the mound together, and very briefly knead to combine. The mixture will still be pretty crumbly. Gather the mound into a ball, and then press firmly into a cohesive 7 inch disk, about 1 inch high. Brush the top of the disk lightly with the beaten egg. Using a sharp knife, cut each disk in half, then cut each half into 4 wedges for a total of 8 wedges. Place them on the lined baking sheet, spaced evenly apart. It's fine if you have to reform the wedges a bit. Brush the edges with more egg wash.
Bake the scones until they are a deep golden brown, about 28 - 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Cool on the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. You can store them loosely covered for 2 days. They can be reheated in a warm oven for 5-10 minutes at 325 degrees F, and frozen for 3 months.
Makes 8 scones. YUM!
LESSONS Learned:
1. Keep the butter and the buttermilk cold, by keeping them in the fridge until you need them.
2. The dough will be crumbly. So don't fret if the dough doesn't come together easily after the buttermilk is added. After a little kneading and forming the dough into a disc, it will start to come together.
3. Don't overmix or over-knead the dough, which will toughen the scones.