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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Chocolate Orange Buttermilk Scones

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 On the short list of my obsessions right now: the chocolate orange flavor combination and Les Miserables. Les Mis comes as no surprise. Coming from a family that truly loves and appreciates theater—especially musicals—I knew I was going to love the movie production of the epic show, even though I had never seen the stage version. My prediction proved right—I loved everything about Les Mis, the music, the storyline, and the way it come to life on the big screen. My biggest regret is not seeing the live performance when it was in St. Louis a few months ago. I definitely won’t make that mistake again!

The chocolate orange obsession was a little more surprising. I like chocolate and peanut butter, chocolate and caramel, and chocolate and (more) chocolate, but I don’t fall the same way for chocolate with fruit. That is, until I decided to add some chopped chocolate along with orange zest to some buttermilk scones. Some of the chocolate I used was sea-salted dark chocolate, taking these to a whole ‘nother level of flavor! I’ve given up in trying to form perfectly shaped scones and have fallen in love with the rustic look of dropped scones. They bake up with all sorts of nooks and crannies, giving you an ideal contrast of browned edge bits and flaky innards. Give these a try—I ate them fresh out of the oven, warmed in the microwave, and cold from the fridge and didn’t stop until there wasn’t a single one left!

Two Years Ago: Crockpot Chicken Wings
Three Years Ago: Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

Chocolate Orange Buttermilk Scones

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
-1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
-1 tsp salt
-2 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
-1 cup buttermilk
-1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate
-zest from 1 orange
-1 tsp orange extract

Ingredients:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, orange extract, and orange zest. Cut in butter and mix with a pastry blender or your fingers until mixture is coarse with chunks of butter.  
2. Add buttermilk and mix just until combined. If mixture seems too dry, add an extra tbsp of buttermilk. Stir in chocolate.
3. Drop round portions of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper (mine were about 1/3 cup sized). Bake for 15 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned.