Cinnful Chocolate Chip Scones

It's no secret that I love scones ... and grew especially fond of them while I was attending college at UW-River Falls. During long nights in the Voice office, I would sneak over to the University Center and grab a coffee and a scone. I would also often make a trip to Starbucks for a latte and one of their amazing specialty scones. Now, far away from Starbucks, I had to come up with some other way to tide me over. Thus, when I found a recipe for cinnamon chip scones, I knew I had to give it a try. And while I love cinnamon, I also knew that if I didn't want to be responsible for eating the entire batch, I would have to incorporate chocolate. That's how these delightful scones came about ... and now I make them all the time.

3-1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup cold butter
1 cup buttermilk
2 - 1.55 oz. milk chocolate candy bars, chopped into small pieces
1/2 package (5 oz.) cinnamon baking chips
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp sugar


Preheat oven to 425°. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk until moistened. Fold in the chocolate pieces and cinnamon chips. Turn onto floured surface. Knead 10 to 12 times until dough is no longer sticky. Divide in half and gently pat or roll out each portion into 7-inch circles. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Cut each circle of dough into six wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 10-15 minutes or until light brown. Serve warm.