Maple Tahini Chocolate Chunk Scones

A little bit nutty, a little bit sweet, and a little bit of chocolate, these maple tahini chocolate chunk scones are quick and easy to make and fully of flavor!

Why aren’t my scones puffy?

The puffiness of scones usually comes from the baking powder and the butter. It is important to make sure that the baking powder hasn’t expired and that the butter is cold going into the dough and the dough is cold going into the oven.

Cream Scones vs. Butter Scones

This recipe uses a combination of butter and cream for an extra tender scone. The cold flakes of butter keep the scones light and the cream keeps them soft and moist.

What is the secret to making good scones?

There are a few secrets to making good scones. It’s very important that the ingredients are cold and the actual scones are cold before baking them in a hot oven. The temperature of everything is very important for the scones to keep their shape and rise. Make sure when toasting the sesame seeds that they have cooled off before adding them into the dry ingredients.

Can I make scones the night before?

Yes! That being said they come together super quickly and chilling them in the freezer while the oven heats up is more than enough time! But if you want to prep the dough the night before, simply make the dough, wrap in plastic and place in the fridge overnight.

Can you reheat scones?

Yes! I used to microwave left over scones – let me tell you, worst idea. The best way to reheat or refresh a scone is to heat the oven to 350 F and then place a scone on a baking sheet (even with the maple glaze, I promise it won’t melt) and bake for 5 minutes. You can also freeze them and bake from frozen, simply increase the time to 10-15 minutes.

Tips for making Scones

• Keep everything as cold as possible but don’t stress, as long as the butter hasn’t melted and they have chilled before baking you’ll be fine.
• I don’t recommend leaving out the tahini or maple syrup because they add to the hydration of the dough but I believe you could replace the tahini with any nut or seed butter.
• Once you add the liquid ingredients, mix until just combined. You don’t want to overwork the dough, and the layering process will mix anything else in.
• Scones are better under mixed rather than over. So when in doubt of whether or not you’ve mixed enough, stop and just press it together in a disk and move on.
• Make sure the oven is hot and the scones are cold! I like to put the scones in the freezer for 30 minutes before baking and make sure my oven is HOT. Like 425 F when the pan goes in.
• Allow the scones to bake until golden brown! This gives them that classic crunchy outside but don’t worry they won’t dry out inside!
• These taste best freshly baked but they can be stored in an airtight container for a few days, or wrapped up and frozen for a month or two. I like to bake them in a 350 F oven on a baking sheet for 5 minutes to reheat.

Additional Recipes to try!

• Raspberry Rhubarb Cream Scones
• Chocolate Orange Scones
• Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

Maple Tahini Chocolate Chunk Scone Ingredients

• Sesame Seeds: Adding toasted sesame seeds into the dough really enhances the overall sesame/tahini flavor without giving them a weird texture.
• Dark Chocolate: I like to add dark chocolate into these because it balances out the nutty and sweetness but you can leave it out if you want .
• All purpose flour: I used standard all purpose flour in these scones but you could definitely do half all purpose and half whole wheat if you prefer!
• Granulated White Sugar: Sugar sweetens the scones along with the maple syrup. I haven’t tested using only maple syrup to sweeten but if you do, be sure to start with a little less heavy cream just to not over hydrate the dough.
• Fine Sea Salt: Salt needs to be added to enhance the flavors in the scones.
• Baking Powder: Baking powder is what makes the scones puff so make sure it isn’t expired.
• Baking Soda: Baking soda helps with the texture of the scones and keeps them soft inside.
• Butter: I used cold unsalted butter in these scones, if you plan to use salted just decrease the salt amount by 50%. There is also a little butter in the maple glaze.
• Tahini: tahini not only gives these scones a delicious flavor it also adds to the soft crumbly texture.
• Maple syrup: Maple syrup is both in the scones and in the glaze, just make sure you are using real maple syrup.
• Heavy Cream: Using just heavy cream makes keeps the scones soft and moist, just make sure the cream is cold. It is also brushed onto the scones just before baking to help them brown.
• Vanilla Extract: vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste will work to help sweeten and enhance the flavors of the scones.
• Powdered Sugar: powdered sugar is just used in the glaze to thicken the maple syrup and butter. If you don’t want to glaze the scones you could also whip butter and slowly pour in maple syrup to make a whipped maple butter.
• Flaky salt: Flaky sea salt adds a fun little touch to the top of the scones and pairs deliciously with the maple glaze.

How to make Maple Tahini Chocolate Chunk Scones

Prep the Sesame Seeds & Chocolate

• In a large shallow pan, pour in 30 grams of sesame seeds. Place over medium heat and toast, stirring frequently, until golden brown.
• Once toasted, transfer the seeds to a separate bowl and place in the fridge to cool down.
• On a cutting board chop up the 100 grams of dark chocolate and set aside.

Make the Scone Dough

• In a large mixing bowl, add in the all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, sesame seeds, and salt. Whisk to combine.
• Pour in the tahini, maple syrup, heavy cream and vanilla and stir with a fork until just combined.
• Last but not least mix in the chocolate chunks.
• Dump the very crumbly dough onto your work surface and pat it together into a 2″ tall rectangle. Bring the edges in with your hands as needed, work quickly as to not melt the butter.
• Use a bench scraper or a knife to cut the rectangle in half. Hotdog style if ya know what I mean. Stack the two halves on top of each other and press down to smush the two layers together.
• With the palms of your hands or a rolling pin, flatten the dough again until it is 2″ thick. Then repeat cutting it in half and stacking it. Flatten the dough once more but this time into an approximate disk that is about 2″ tall.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for 30 minutes or the fridge for minimum 1 hour.
• While the dough chills, place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 425 F.

Assemble & Bake

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour 3 tablespoons of heavy cream into a small bowl.
• Once the scone dough has chilled and the oven is hot, remove the dough from the freezer and unwrap it onto the lined baking sheet.
• Brush the top of the disk with the heavy cream.
• Use a knife or bench scraper to cut the disk into 8 wedges.
• Spread the scones out evenly over the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet into the oven, close the door and then turn the oven down to 400 F.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
• Rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 5-10 minutes until golden brown.
• While baking prep the maple glaze in the next section.

Maple Glaze

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter and maple syrup. The butter may clump if the syrup is cold, just keep whisking vigorously and it will mix smoothly.
• Add in the powdered sugar and whisk again. Add more maple syrup or more powdered sugar as needed to thicken or thin out the glaze.
• Once the scones have finished baking, take the tray out of the oven and spoon the glaze over the scones. Sprinkle each one with a bit of flaky salt and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

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