Receta Chocolate Chip Scones

For those (including me) who were afraid that Cooking Light wouldn't include anything fun; this one's for us. What's that you're asking? What are those little reddish black and dark brown bits nestled in that golden ball? Those, my friends, are currants and chocolate chips.

This little gem, Chocolate Chip Scones, is actually a reader's recipe. It was also my breakfast. And Hubby's. Too bad Dudette was already at school. There's a surprising ingredient in here that speeds up the cooking process tremendously. I had these done and on the cooling rack in about forty minutes. The creator said that the scones are great with her morning cup of tea, but since I don't go near the stuff I had it with my morning coffee and it was still.....well, I'll tell you how it was in a minute.

First, get out your currants, chop them up add a bit of water, microwave them and then let them sit until nice and plump. While they're plumping, combine the reduced-fat Bisquick (gasp), sugar and cinnamon in a nice big bowl. Cut in a couple dabs of butter. Then add the currants (with water), half-and-half, chocolate chips and an egg white. Stir it all up just until everything is moist and comes together. Once that's done, plop balls down on a baking sheet and put the sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Stand in front of the fridge, tapping your foot while you wait for time to pass because the coffee levels are dropping and hunger is mounting. When you can't stand it anymore, or after five minutes, take the baking sheet out and combine the left-out egg yolk with some half-and-half and brush each scone with the mixture. Then sprinkle each with some sugar.

Bake them. They say twelve minutes, but mine took 14 and I turned the pan halfway through. When they're done, remove them to a cooling rack and threaten Hubby's with their lives if they go near the kitchen before everything is cool. Make the powdered sugar glaze and drizzle it over the scones and serve.

The instructions worked perfectly until I got to the glaze. For some reason 1 1/2 teaspoons of water did not create anything that was drizzleable. I added about another half teaspoon of lemon juice. Yes, I admit it (hanging my head in shame), I veered from the recipe. I prefer lemon glaze to plain old water and powdered sugar.

The glaze coating, as you see it in the photo above, is about the same amount of glaze that is on the photo in the magazine. Just so you know, there is no way that 1/2 cup of powdered sugar mixed with water and applied that heavily on the scones will cover all twelve, which is what this recipe makes. I covered four before I ran out. You're either supposed to make more and fudge on the caloric intake or just drizzle lines in real life, only allowing the gorgeous coating for pictorial reasons.

Now for flavor. I've only had scones one other time and they ended up chewy and not so appetizing so I didn't have much to compare with. These were excellent. The simple two tablespoons of mini chocolate chips were enough to just give a taste without overpowering the scone with chocolate flavor so the currants could shine through. Did using Bisquick make a difference? I don't know.

So, I asked a friend who came over. Before trying mine and finding out how it was made, he let me know that he had a relative or knew someone or knew someone that knew someone that made outstanding scones (great, I thought as I handed him his plate; now he's getting Bisquick). Believe it or not, he thought it was excellent and said that it was lighter (in a good way) than any scone he had experienced before. He loved it.

I'm thrilled to have found this recipe in the magazine and that it turned out so well, especially since it's the only bread recipe in the magazine (what's up with that?).