Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Scones with Nutella Glaze

If you are a regular on this blog, you'll see that I'm not a huge sweet fan.  Nine times out of ten, I will pick savory over sweet.  It's not that I don't like sweets, I just am not a fan of anything that is so sugary it makes my teeth hurt.

Last weekend, on our way out of the market, a vendor gave Matt a sample of a cherry scone.  He immediately asked if I could make a chocolate version.  Challenge accepted.  I was actually going to just make these with chocolate chips and a vanilla bean glaze. Then he came up with the idea to add hazelnuts and top with Nutella.  And because of his genius suggestion, we officially struck scone gold.

I love these because the scones have just a touch of sweetness.  And the Nutella glaze... need I say more?

Sending a huge thank you out to my friend Allison who bought this dish for me just because. Check out the adorable owl that adorns the side... how fitting!  

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Scones
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons cold butter
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons cream to brush the tops

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix until combined.  Chop the butter into small squares.  Add butter to flour mixture and mix on low until the pieces of butter are the size of peas.  You can also do this with a pastry cutter or by squeezing it through your fingers.

In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, cream, eggs and vanilla.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.  You might need to use your hands and knead it in the bowl to pick up the flour at the bottom of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat dough with your hands to form a large disc about 2 inches thick.  At this point, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze it to bake at later time.  If baking now, cut the dough into 6-8 even triangles like a pizza pie.

Place the scones on a parchment or Silpat lined sheet pan.  Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream.  Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes.

Nutella Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Nutella

In a small bowl, add sugar, cream and Nutella.  Whisk until a glaze forms. Once scones have cooled, use a the whisk to drizzle glaze over the tops.

Consume immediately and try not to finish them in one sitting!