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In January of 2015, I started working on my first major cookbook, Healthier Chocolate Treats. After writing the proposal and establishing the Table of Contents, I penciled in a schedule of the recipes I needed to test over the next three months, plus a little extra âwiggle roomâ at the end of that timeframe in case my perfectionist side needed the extra week to ensure every recipe met my standards. (Are you a perfectionist too? Can you relate?) Â
The next day, I drove over to the grocery store to stock up on baking staples before I dove headfirst into recipe testing. I nearly bought out their entire inventory of my favorite cocoa powder and chocolate chips⌠And did that again a few weeks later!
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I strategically planned my schedule of cookbook recipes to avoid testing five desserts in a week (plus the recipes I still baked for this blogâitâd be impossible to run enough miles to compensate!). Instead, I worked on one snack, one or two breakfasts, and two desserts each week, and I always found myself staring at countertops and a fridge full of baked goodies every Saturday⌠Then knocking on my friendsâ and neighborsâ doors with big platters of them to give away!
Because I absolutely adore muffins and scones, those were the first few breakfast recipes that I tested. I love pairing them with Greek yogurt for breakfast, nibbling on them alongside coffee as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, and even reaching for them as a pre-bedtime snack. Those types of baked treats never last long at my house!
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Since Iâm super excited that my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook is coming out as an eBook next week (you can see a sneak peek and preorder it here!), Iâve been staring at pictures of the muffins and scones that I included in the cookbook for the past few days⌠Which inspired me to bake these Clean Triple Chocolate Scones!
Yes, triple chocolate! Chocolate dough. Chocolate chips. Chocolate drizzle. And theyâre healthy too⌠Theyâre a chocoholicâs dream come true!
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MmmmmmmmmâŚ. Doesnât that look good??
Youâll start with a combination of white whole wheat flour and unsweetened cocoa powder. White whole wheat flour is made from a special type of finely ground white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from heartier red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, similar to that of all-purpose flour, but it still has the same health benefits of regular whole wheat flour.
Youâll just need regular olâ unsweetened cocoa powder. No need for Dutched or special darkâthe scones already taste plenty dark without those! Youâll use a full ½ cup of cocoa powder in these scones, so using those other types will make them taste bitter instead of rich and chocolaty. So stick with the regular variety!
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For the perfect light and tender texture, youâll want to use very cold butter. Unlike traditional recipes that call for an entire stick or two, you just need 2 tablespoons in these healthier scones! You want the butter to stay cold until you put the scones in the oven because when the butter starts to melt at that high temperature, it creates little air pockets, which gives the scones their light and tender texture.
Note: For this reason, coconut oil and spreadable butter wonât achieve quite the same texture. You can use them in a pinch, as long as you remember that the texture will be slightly different.
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To keep the scones really moist, youâll use my favorite ingredient in healthier baking. Do you know what it is? Thatâs right⌠Itâs Greek yogurt! Greek yogurt provides the same moisture as extra butter for a fraction of the calories, and it gives these scones a protein boost too!
And of course⌠The mini chocolate chips! I highly recommend using mini chips because they ensure that every bite contains a little morsel of melty chocolate. These are my favorite because they taste really rich and melt very well!
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Just before baking, youâll brush the dough with milk. This little trick helps seal the moisture into the scones, and it also gives their outsides a hint of a crust. That texture contrast is so irresistible⌠Itâs probably one of the biggest reasons I have very little self-control around scones! ?
Once they come out of the oven, itâs time to add the dark chocolate drizzle! Itâs super simple to make: just cocoa powder, maple syrup, and milk. Thatâs it! Drizzle on top of those warm chocolate scones with their melty chocolate chips, take a bite, andâŚ
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Pure chocolate bliss! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees Iâll see your picture! ?) Iâd love to see your scones!
And if you enjoyed these scones, youâll love all of the recipes in my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook! See a special sneak preview and order yours here!
| Clean Triple Chocolate Scones | | Print |
- for the scones
- 1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, very cold and cubed
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp + 2 tsp (55mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp (28g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- for the drizzle
- 1 tbsp (5g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp nonfat milk
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, 3 tablespoons of milk, and vanilla. Gently fold in 1 ½ tablespoons of chocolate chips.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, and shape into a žâ tall circle using a spatula. Brush with the remaining milk. Slice the circle into 8 triangular segments with a sharp knife. Gently press the remaining chocolate chips on top. Bake at 425°F for 15-18 minutes, or tips of each scone triangle in the center of the pan feel firm to the touch. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the drizzle, stir together the cocoa powder, maple syrup, and milk in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to a zip-topped bag, and cut off a tiny piece of one corner. Just before serving, drizzle on top of the scones.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
Itâs very important to measure both the flour and cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. I highly recommend the latter! This is the one I own (itâs the best $20 Iâve ever spent!), and I use it every day. A kitchen scale ensures that the recipes you make will turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time. Too much cocoa powder in these scones will make them dry and bitter.
In a pinch, solid-state coconut oil may be substituted for the butter, but I warn against doing this, if at all possible, because the sconesâ texture wonât be quite the same.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
These scones are meant to taste similar to 72% dark chocolate. For sweeter scones, substitute additional pure maple syrup for some of the milk in either the scone dough, the drizzle, or both.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
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Hi, Amy, I would like to make the heathly chocolate scones to help my mother. I’m gonna love it. I love chocolate. I should be proud. My mother and I will be getting a greek yogurt, white whole wheat flour, unsweetned cocoa powder, vanilla extact, and butter. We’ll go to the grocery store soon. I can’t wait to taste it. My twin brother will try it. He’ll gonna love it. I’m a proud twin sister. Let me know what you think. ????
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Jennifer! You’re so sweet to make them to share with your family. They’re so lucky to have you! đ I can’t wait to hear what you and your family think of these scones!
I just made them today and the dough was actually too wet. They are in the fridge now to make them easier to handle. I added lotsa flour during shaping, hope they donât turn out too hard.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Yu! That’s so strange that the dough was so wet. How was the texture compared to mine in the video directly above the recipe? The dough should be sticky but not wet! If you watch my recipe video, you’ll see that I use a spatula to shape it (not my hands!). Is that what you did as well? Also, did you make any modifications to the recipe, including the ones listed in the Notes section of the recipe?
I cannot wait to try these!
That means so much to me, Danielle! I’d love to hear what you think of these scones when you do! đ
Diabetic cinnamon roll fan here. My husband loved brownies for breakfast. I loved them even more. I’m the one who thinks 85% chocolate bars are the best, though. I had some user error and ingredient substitution issues, but that didn’t stop me from eating them!
White whole wheat flour just isn’t available here in my Mexican village. I subbed half & half all purpose & whole wheat, hoping to lighten the texture just a bit. No luck. They were extremely dense. Again, didn’t stop me from enjoying them. Probably worked my butter a bit much. I attribute that to my warm kitchen. And I didn’t read instructions carefully when it came time to glaze. I threw everything in my ziplock bag and kneaded. It came out as a crumbly mixture. Got to try that again.
I read a lot of comments about not being sweet enough. That’s a personal taste issue. If you’re used to really sweet things, the scones will certainly taste not sweet enough. For us, sweetness was perfect as we’re pretty much weaned from sugar. I’ll be making there again for sure. Do you think subbing cornstarch for part of the flour (like you can do to fake pastry flour) would lighten the texture a bit?
I’m honored that you tried another one of my recipes, Barbara! It means a lot that you liked these scones and would want to try making them again. That’s always a good sign! đ
How did you measure the cocoa powder? If the scones were dry/dense and the glaze was crumbly, it sounds like there might have been too much cocoa powder in both the dough and the glaze. Did you use measuring cups or spoons, and if so, did you happen to dip them directly into your container of cocoa powder, by any chance?
I always measure by weight, Amy. That’s yet another reason I love your recipes! If the cocoa powder might be the issue, it could be my Mexican powder performs differently. It sure doesn’t look look the stuff that comes in a can. I’ll give reducing it a tad a try. Don’t know if my elevation might have an effect, too. I’m a bit over a mile high here in the foothills of the Sierra Madres. The flour could be affecting as well. I buy it at a little organic grocery store. I’ve noticed it’s a bit coarser and way less refined than US branded flours. The recipe is certainly worth fiddling with to accommodate my special situation.
That’s right, Barbara — you’ve told me that you measure by weight before!! I’m so sorry I didn’t remember that. Thank you for being so patient with me. You’re so sweet! đ
Thanks for sharing your experience with cocoa powder and flour too. That’s really helpful to know! If your flour is coarser, that would probably be my first guess… What does your Mexican cocoa powder look like? Is it really fine and powdery? Do you happen to know the brand name? Maybe I can try looking it up online to see if I’m able to view its texture in photos too.
And for what it’s worth, I’ve had lots of other readers at high altitudes say that my recipes work exactly as written, without any modifications! When they tried adjusting recipes using normal “high altitude” guidelines, my recipes actually turned out worse… So I think we can probably rule that out as a potential cause!
When I made these, I found that I needed to add a little extra milk to drizzle batter to bring it to right consistency. Being diabetic, I try to avoid as much wheat flour as possible. So I bake with spelt flour usually. I substituted 1/2c whole spelt flour and 1/2c white spelt flour for the flour recommended in the recipe. These scones are so good! Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so happy you enjoyed these scones, Lydia! Thanks for taking the time to share and also let us know about your modifications, too. We always enjoy hearing about what recipe tweaks work out! đ
I went to the store yesterday and bought the ingredients. I made the scones this morning. They didn’t rise at all and all I could taste was the wheat flower. It overpowered everything else. If I can’t find a way to cover the taste, I will not make it again.
We’re honored that you decided to try our recipe, Jennifer! That sounds disappointing and not how these scones should turn out. These scones should be rich and chocolatey! I’d love to help you figure out what happened. In order to do that I have a few questions for you!
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons for all of the ingredients â especially the flour, cocoa powder, and pure maple syrup?
What brand of white whole wheat flour did you use? Or, if you substituted a different type of wheat flour, what’s the exact brand + product that you used? (We’ve noticed that some brands have a more prominent “wheat-y” flavor, which is why we like to ask!)
What brand of pure maple syrup did you use?
Did the consistency of your dough match what’s in our video directly above the recipe? (You can start to see our dough’s consistency at the 2:08-minute mark. If you watch a little further, through the 2:50-minute mark, you can see its texture in more detail!)
If not, can you describe the consistency of your dough? For example, was it wet, sticky, really stiff, crumbly, or impossible to incorporate all of the dry ingredients?
How long did you bake your scones?
We understand they didn’t seem to rise! Did they rise while baking but completely collapse back down while cooling â or did they fail to rise even while baking?
What was their texture like inside?
Were you able to detect any sort of chocolate or cocoa powder flavor â or did the wheat flour completely mask that?
I know I just asked a lot of questions, but once I know the answers to these I think we’ll be able to pinpoint the culprit so you can enjoy these chocolate scones!