Healthy Cranberry Chocolate Chip Scones
Yields: 8 scones
 
These scones look and taste impressive enough for special holiday breakfasts or brunches… But they’re secretly easy enough to make (only one bowl and 30 minutes needed!) for quick weekday treats! Leftovers will keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
  • 1 ½ cups (180g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, 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
  • ¾ cup (75g) whole fresh cranberries, diced
  • 2 tbsp (28g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 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 extract. Gently fold in the cranberries and 1 ½ tablespoons of miniature chocolate chips.
  3. Using a spatula, shape the dough into a ¾” tall circle on the prepared baking sheet, and brush with the remaining milk. Slice the circle into 8 triangular segments with a sharp knife. (No need to separate them!) Gently press the remaining chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 425°F for 20-22 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.

For a gluten-free version, use the following blend: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as well, if they’re measured like this.

It’s very important that your butter is cold, straight from the fridge. (Freezing it isn’t necessary for this recipe!) With very cold butter, it won’t heat up until you put the scones in the extremely hot oven, and it will create little air pockets and a very tender crumb when it melts.

Honey or agave may be substituted in place of the pure maple syrup.

Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.

The cranberries should be measured when whole, then diced! To quickly dice the cranberries, I add them to my food processor and pulse until they’re no larger than ¼ of their original size.

Frozen and thawed cranberries that have been patted dry to remove any excess moisture may be substituted for the fresh. In a pinch, ⅓ cup of diced dried cranberries that have been hydrated may be substituted. To hydrated the dried cranberries, add them to a microwave-safe bowl, add water until it rises ½” above the cranberries, and cover the top with a lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Let the cranberries sit while preparing the scone dough. Just before mixing them in, drain and pat dry.

In a pinch, coconut oil may be substituted for the butter, but the texture of the scones will be affected. Very cold butter is required to achieve their tender texture, and since coconut oil melts at a much lower temperature, the results will not be the same.

To see how these are made, watch my video here located directly above the recipe. (It’s for a very similar recipe!)

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2017/11/05/healthy-cranberry-chocolate-chip-scones/