Is it just me or do recipes that require careful watching, kneading, and timing scare you to death? I have a tendency to stay away from biscuits, cinnamon rolls, pie crusts, and scones for this very reason. Just too much work. Too much stress. Too much worrying! Is the butter broken up into small enough pieces? Have I rolled it out too long? Is the butter still COLD enough?? Is this work of art I’ve spent the past hour on going to look like a pile of slop??

This is why I avoid such recipes. However, when I saw this recipe on Joy the Baker’s blog I couldn’t NOT make it. Chocolate, sliced almonds, and sweetened coconut? Hi, I’m in Heaven. I had to try it. And good news! It wasn’t too stressful! Sure, I had my doubts during the process (minor temperature situation) but this recipe took less than an hour to make (and less than an hour to eat). It turned out to be a relatively easy recipe and one I will definitely be making again.

I HIGHLY suggest you make this recipe soon. The scones are the perfect start to a saturday morning with a cup of coffee. They aren’t too sweet so if you’re not into really sweet things, these are for you! I have a mighty strong sweet tooth so adding a bit of jelly or apple butter made them absolutely perfect. The chocolate chips provide a sweet touch to these biscuits and the almonds and coconut add amazing flavors. Doesn’t get much better than these.

Chocolate Almond Coconut Scones

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 large egg
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. buttermilk
1/3 cup shredded coconut (I used sweetened but unsweetened is also fine)
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Buttermilk and sugar for topping

Directions
Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the coconut and almonds and place on an uncovered baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until browned (watch the coconut! It browns quickly!). Set aside and allow to cool.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking power, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter cubes to the flour and using your hands, quickly mix the butter into the flour mixture. The pieces of butter should end up the size of peas or small pebbles. Place bowl in the fridge.

Whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Remove the bowl from the fridge and whisk in the almonds, coconut, and chocolate chips. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk-egg mixture to the well in the center of the bowl. Using a fork, bring the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Continue until ingredients are well mixed. Flour a work surface and place the dough (it will be clumpy!) on it. Form a 1 1/2 inch disk with the dough using your hands. Using a biscuit cutter (I used a wine glass…), cut out the biscuits and place on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart*. Brush a little bit of buttermilk onto the biscuits then sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until golden brown on top.

*I like to only bake one sheet at a time to make sure everything is cooked thoroughly. I placed the biscuits waiting to be baked in the fridge until it was their turn in the oven… Gotta keep the butter happy and cold!

Serve warm with jelly, apple butter, or plain!

Enjoy!
Natalie