Raspberry Chocolate Tea Scones

So while it is true that a) I haven't baked a scone since September and was well over my scone fest and b) I have come to believe all you need is a few good scone bases to use and then you just throw whatever you want IN the scone, I have still come to this. I am still trying new scone recipes. Not that I don't have a few great bases-- I do-- and eventually I'll record which of the recipes I've blogged are the best and which are duds. But there is something still so tempting to me about new scone recipes. Maybe this one will be amazing! I say, and I fall for it all over again.

Sad to say, however, that this Eggs On Sunday recipe (like the other raspberry chocolate recipe on this blog) was a disappointment in terms of the scone base. Raspberry and dark chocolate, always a good idea and especially redeeming in January, but the scone underneath couldn't quite pull it off and ended up being too chewy and bland for my taste. So why blog this? you ask. Because this blog isn't meant to be life changing, it's meant to be life recording.

Note: I used Hershey Bliss dark chocolate cut up into small chunks (divine) instead of mini chocolate chips, and I also used fresh raspberries cut in half that I threw in the freezer for ten minutes or so before putting into the batter. And I omitted the egg wash, of course.

Which all that I present to you the recipe found online here:
http://eggsonsunday.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/raspberry-chocolate-tea-scones-recipe/#more-3286

Ingredients:

2 C. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 T. sugar
4 T. unsalted butter, chilled and chopped into small pieces
1 C. miniature chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate
1 C. frozen raspberries, chopped (keep frozen until you’re ready to add them to the dough)
3/4 C. heavy cream
1 egg, separated
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and sugar. Add the chopped cold butter and rub with your fingers into the flour until the bits of butter are roughly the size of peas. Stir in the chocolate chips/chunks.

3. Separate the egg; reserve the white for later use (you’ll use it to brush on the tops of the scones before baking.) In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the cream, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.

4. Add the chopped frozen raspberries to the flour mixture. Pour in the cream, and using light, quick strokes, stir with a fork until just moistened (there may still be some flour on the bottom of the bowl.) Use your hands to gather the dough into a ball and knead it lightly a few times, just to gather it together. Don’t worry if there’s still a little flour remaining on the bottom of the bowl.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into two balls. Gently flatten each ball into a 1-inch high disk, and cut each disk into 6 wedges (for 12 scones total-- I made 8.) Place on baking sheet and brush the tops with the reserved egg white; sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and scones are cooked through.