Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Scones

Orange and dark chocolate is one of my absolute favorite taste combinations and these scones married the two flavors beautifully. My mom and I knew we wanted to make scones as part of our Easter brunch, and as she’d given up chocolate for Lent (I don’t understand it either…) she was pretty set on incorporating it into our menu. I think she was the one who came up with orange/dark chocolate in our brainstorming session and as soon as she did I was definitely sold. These scones turned out absolutely delicious. The orange flavor really shined, though it wasn’t overpowering and the dark chocolate chips complemented it perfectly. The texture of the scones was great and I think most of my family agreed that they were even better cooled to room temperature than they were warm out of the oven (though both ways were wonderful). These would be great to serve company and they were easy to make. Chocolate for breakfast? Yes, please.

Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Scones
Source: inspired by Skinnytaste Lemon Cranberry Scones
 
Ingredients:
2 T granulated sugar
2 T freshly squeezed orange juice (straight from an orange), divided
½ c low fat buttermilk
¼ c granulated sugar
1 T orange zest
2 t vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 c white all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
½ t salt
3 T chilled butter, chopped into small pieces (butter must be cold, the consistency of the scones depends on it)
½ c dark chocolate chips

Directions:
1.    Make sure one of your oven racks is in the top 1/3 of the oven and preheat the oven to 375. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2.    In a small dish, combine the first 2 T sugar and 1 T of orange juice and stir to create a glaze. Set aside.
3.    In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, ¼ c sugar, remaining 1 T orange juice, orange zest, vanilla extract and egg until combined. Set aside
4.    In a large bowl, whisk together white flour, wheat flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Cut in the cold butter using two knives (or a pastry blender if you have one) until the butter is broken up very small within the mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Add the bowl of wet ingredients and stir until combined.
5.    Lightly flour a clean, flat surface and dust your hand with flour as well. Place the dough on the surface and knead four times. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet and flatten it into an 8” circle, about 3/4” thick. Slicing only about halfway through, mark the dough into 10 wedges using a knife. Brush the orange glaze over the top of the scones using a pastry brush. Bake 18-20 minutes.

Yields 10 servings. Weight Watchers Points Plus: 6 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per serving from myfitnesspal.com: 215 calories, 33 g carbs, 8 g fat, 4 g protein, 3 g fiber