Someday I hope to visit Scotland, home of shortbread and scones. How such simple ingredients–essentially butter, flour, and sugar–can yield such marvelous treats is a wonder.

These scones are certainly Americanized, not much like traditional Scottish scones, but they are light and flaky and pair very well with a good cup of tea. This recipe requires you to literally get your hands into the mix, rubbing the butter into the flour mixture, which can take a few minutes and requires great subjectivity. My mixture looked like a bowl of cake crumbs, with some smaller and larger pieces, before I added the chocolate chips and wet ingredients. And, take note that the dough will be wet and sticky when you turn it out onto the parchment-lined baking sheet; it will not be dry like biscuit dough.

Next time, I plan to add some sanding sugar to the tops for a bit of crunch.

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 8 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
• 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk; set aside.

Add butter to the flour mixture. Using your hands, rub in the butter until the mixture looks like cake crumbs.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Add egg and milk mixture and stir together, using a fork, until the dough just comes together.

Turn out onto parchment-lined sheet and flatten to about one-inch thickness.

Cut into eight wedges and, using a small offset spatula, pull the wedges apart so they are not touching.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until tops are golden brown.

Serve warm or allow to cool.