Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

Siné asked me if I would post the recipe for the orange chocolate chip scones that we had for our afternoon Willows tea.

The original recipe can be found here at All Recipes, but we tweaked it to suit our love of orange and chocolate and therefore give them a more robust orange taste.

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips (we only had regular sized ones and they worked fine too).
3 Tbsp orange juice
2 tsp grated orange rind

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With a pastry blender or a large fork, cut in the butter or margarine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips and grated orange rind. Mix in the orange juice to form a dough.

Turn out the dough on a floured surface. Pat or roll into a 9 inch circle about 1/2 inch thick. With a 2 1/2 inch fluted biscuit cutter, cut out 12 scones, pushing the dough scraps together for the last few, if necessary. Transfer the scones to the baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Enjoy warm with a cup of tea or coffee, and of course some fancy China tea cups!