Every year it seems like the zucchini plants in my parents’ garden thrive and produce so much at once. Growing up my mom would bake zucchini bread to make sure none of it went to waste. She made large batches as it would freeze well and be a great snack to bring to school. Sometimes she would add chopped walnuts to the mix, but I personally loved it when she added chocolate chips. The amount of zucchinis has doubled now that I have my own garden, too. I thought of her zucchini bread recipe and decided to use up this summer squash by making Chocolate Chip Zucchini Scones.
What do these Chocolate Chip Zucchini Scones taste like?
Honestly, not zucchini! At least not much. The zucchini is almost tasteless in this scone recipe.
Instead, these scones have a crunchy exterior and buttery texture with a hint of sweetness from the chocolate chips and soft spice notes.
I definitely recommend this recipe if you’re looking for a nice change from zucchini bread or zucchini muffins!
Ingredients
– Flour: all-purpose and unbleached
– Baking Powder: this leavening agent will help the scones increase height while baking in the oven
– Salt: I used fine sea salt
– Sugar: white granulated sugar for the dough plus extra to sprinkle on top of the scones
– Spices: cinnamon with a touch of ground cloves
– Butter: the butter needs to be very cold, not room temperature
– Milk: 1% or 2% milk or even oat milk are great options for the dough
– Zucchini: 1 small zucchini should be enough (see notes below on how to grate and drain the zucchini for this recipe)
– Chocolate Chips: milk chocolate is my preference, but you could try this with semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to Prepare Zucchini for Scones
Wash the zucchini. Do not peel the zucchini. The peel adds a beautiful pop of green to the scones. The peel actually does not change the flavour or texture. Plus, it contains great vitamins!
If you’re using a very small zucchini, you may not need to remove the seeds before grating. The larger the zucchini, the larger the seeds. Therefore, I recommend not using the seeds in this scone recipe. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon before grating.
Alternatively, you can grate the sides of the zucchini only. Stop before you reach the center with the seeds.
Using a cheese grater or box grater, rub the zucchini on the shredder side to grate.
Zucchini is a favourite to use when baking because it provides a lot of flavourless moisture. When baking zucchini bread, you would just add the grated zucchini to the mix right away. However, that’s not the case for zucchini scones!
Scones should be more crumbly and buttery. If there is too much moisture in the batter, the scones may flatten and take longer to bake. So, it’s very important to drain as much moisture as possible from the zucchini before adding it to the batter.
To do so, simply squeeze the grated zucchini over a fine-mesh strainer.
Tea Recommendations
If you want to serve these scones with tea (you totally should, by the way) there are a few recommendations listed below. I found robust and warming teas paired nicely with the chocolate zucchini scones.
- Masala Chai or any spiced tea blend
- Roasted Oolong teas
- Hojicha green tea
- Genmaicha green tea
- Red rooibos
- Turmeric herbal tea blends
How to Make Chocolate Chip Zucchini Scones
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl: flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
Cut cold butter into the dry mixture until coarse. Do so with either a pastry cutter or clean fingers.
Add milk, grated (and drained!) zucchini and chocolate chips to the mixing bowl. Gently fold with a spatula until dough begins to form.
Place dough on a floured surface and form into a round disk about 1.5 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges and set on a baking sheet. Brush tops lightly with milk, sprinkle with sugar and bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the tops of the scones are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and serve warm with tea!
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Scones
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 6 tablespoons butter cold
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 cup grated zucchini drained (about 1 small zucchini)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and ground cloves.
- With a pastry cutter or cleaned fingers, cut the butter into the dry mixture until coarse.
- Add milk, grated zucchini and chocolate chips to the mixing bowl. Gently fold with a rubber spatula until dough begins to form.
- Place dough on a floured surface and form into a round disk about 1.5 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges and set on the lined baking sheet.
- Brush tops with milk, sprinkle with sugar and bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm with tea!
Notes
Like this scone recipe? Pin it for later here –> https://bit.ly/3ebQLN0
*If you give this recipe a try, send me a photo of your creation on my Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Include the hashtag #theteacupoflife.