By far the best scones I have ever made! Packed with a serious punch of orange and endless amounts of chocolate, these Gluten-Free Orange Chocolate Chip Scones are the perfect breakfast treat.
You know those things in life that always look way better than they actually are? Like when you walk by a quaint little pastry shop on vacation, see the most amazing looking croissant/muffin/donut you’ve ever seen and you think: “Yes. Need it, gotta have it. Totally worth exceeding my allotted calories for the day by 200%.”? And then you take a bite and it’s maybe the most disappointing thing you’ve ever tasted?
These Gluten-Free Orange Chocolate Chip Scones are 5,000% the opposite of that.
Don’t get me wrong, these suckers are pretty darn drool-worthy – I had quite some trouble keeping my grubby little paws off them until they were cooled/iced/photographed – but in the back of my head I kept thinking: these can’t possibly be as good as they look, since they looked that close to scone perfection.
…And then I took a bite. GAME OVER. STICK A FORK IN ME. I can never make another scone again because this is the scone to end all scones. Anthony, the man who will eat [almost] anything but can somehow turn down a scone 80% of the time, said that this might be the best thing I have made in years. YEARS, people. And I bake a LOT.
And if these gluten-free orange chocolate chip scones weren’t special enough on their own, they are officially extra special as they were made for an extra special little boy named JOEY who is still on the inside (but almost on the outside) and is lucky to have two of the coolest people I know – the great Lynn of Fresh April Flours and Matt of Bent on Better – as parents. Joey, I’m totes jealy that you get to spend 24/7 with them for the next 18 years. 😉
In great anticipation of his arrival, some of Joey’s biggest [food blogger] fans and I have teamed up to throw Lynn, Matt, and Joey a little virtual baby shower. The theme: ORANGE. Because mama, in good taste, loooooves orange anything and everything (in flavor AND color!). And after lovingly and patiently housing Joey for the last 38+ weeks, this mama certainly deserves every one of these DELICIOUS orange treats:
- Gluten-Free Orange Hazelnut Cupcakes with Nutella Ganache by Amy of Thoroughly Nourished Life
- Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cheesecake by Jessica of Sweetest Menu
- Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies by Cate of Chez Catey Lou
- Gluten-Free Orange Chocolate Chip Scones by yours truly!
🍊🍊🍊🍊
With little Joey in mind, I aimed to make these scones a little more on the tender side. As you know, scones can be very dry and very bland and are generally not very loved by kiddos (…not to mention a serious choking hazard!) so I aimed to up the moisture a bit, while still maintaining a bit of the classic scone texture. I mean, his mama’s still gotta be able to dunk that sucker in a big cup of Joe (no pun intended!), right?
Thanks to a whopping 2 Tablespoons of orange zest, a little honey, some brown sugar, and, of course, some half and half, these scones are unbelievably tender yet retain that wonderful biscuity texture and are absolutely PACKED with orange flavor. Even the babes have to be on board with that!
And then there’s the very best part: the epic orange glaze. You guys, it tastes EXACTLY like an orange creamsicle – hello childhood favorite! – and really helps to lock all of the moisture into the scone. That is, if you can resist straight-up drinking it before it makes it onto the scones.
….You think I’m kidding, but kidding I am not. Anthony and I may or may not have have had a good 5 minute discussion trying to decide how bad for you it would be to sip it with a straw. We came dangerously close.
Obviously you’ll also want to be sure to sprinkle some (or a lot) of extra mini-chocolate chips over the top of the glaze before it’s completely set. You can never go wrong with more chocolate.
Joey doesn’t even know how many good things are awaiting him on the outside.
Hurry up, little man! We can’t wait to meet you. (And I promise to deliver some Gluten-Free Orange Chocolate Chip Scones in person the MOMENT your mama says it’s okay for you to eat them. Count on it).
Gluten-Free Orange Chocolate Chip Scones
- ===SCONES===
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
- 1 teaspoon xanthun gum (omit of your blend already contains it)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons fresh orange zest
- ⅓ cup + 2 Tablespoons half & half creamer
- ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
- ===ORANGE GLAZE===
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
- 2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
- Cut butter into small chunks and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After this,vLine a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- In a food processor, combine gluten-free flour, xanthan gum (if needed), sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse until combined.
- Now Add frozen butter and quickly pulse 6-8 times or just until butter is incorporated into the flour mixture. The texture should be similar to coarse sand. Stir the mini chocolate chips into the flour mixture, but do not pulse again!
- In a large bowl, mix egg, honey, vanilla, orange zest and half and half.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and gently stir just until combined.
- Turn the dough out onto your baking sheet and knead just a few times with your hands, and then form into a circle – about ¾ inch thick and 8 inches in diameter. Cut the circle into 8 wedges using a knife.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Once slightly cooled, run a knife through the scones again if they baked together.
- For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, melted butter, and orange juice together in a shallow bowl until smooth and fully combined. Once the scones are cool, dip the scone in the glaze top-down, and make sure the entire top gets coated. Before the glaze sets, sprinkle with some extra mini-chocolate chips, if desired.
Looking for other great gluten-free scone recipes? Be sure to check out my scone archive!