Marvelous Orange Chocolate Scones

The Scone. My obsession with baking started with a scone. Seven years ago I was in a Williams-Sonoma in Southern California and I spotted a mini-scone pan. I thought it was cute, so I picked it up. On the cardboard packaging was printed the story of how the scone originated, which, according to this version, got its name from the Stone of Destiny, the site where the Kings of Scotland were crowned. I was reading Sir Walter Scott’s, Waverly at the time, so naturally I needed this scone pan. Naturally. My maxim is that the books I read are much better when accompanied with the appropriate food (and even better if I can be in the right setting or atmosphere that corresponds with the novel -(think reading Wuthering Heights on a stormy, wind-filled night or actually reading Anne of Green Gables on the shores of Prince Edward Island). So, I took my little scone pan home and promptly baked up these crumbling morsels of deliciousness. I have modified the original recipe a bit. I included cinnamon (because I love cinnamon in everything), orange zest, dark chocolate, and more orange juice to help the dough stick together. Make these. The scent of zesty, fragrant oranges and rich, dark chocolate melting together in your oven will fill your entire home and you will be a happier person because of it. Now, if only a Sir Walter Scott novel were as easy to devour as these scones...

Marvelous Orange Chocolate Scones

1 ¾ cup white flour
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
zest of one orange
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 ounces 71% dark bittersweet Valhrona chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease your baking sheet with butter or spray. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and orange zest. Cut in the cold butter using a fork or pastry blender. Your mixture will be lumpy. Mix in the orange juice to form the dough (use your hands for this - it's more effective). Turn out your dough on a floured surface and pat it into a circle. Proceed to cut the circle into wedges (it’s like cutting a pizza) and transfer to baking pan. Sprinkle each scone with a little sugar. Cook for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Immediately eat one while reading a good book.