Chocolate Chip Scones Made with Cake Mix (Yes, Really!)
Chocolate Chip Scone (using cake mix)
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups Cake Mix
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour; plus more for dusting
- ½ cup unsalted butter; cold & cubed
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Stir cake mix and flour in a large bowl.
- Add cold butter to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter to work the butter into the flour mixture. Mix. The mixture should resemble coarse, sandy crumbs.
- Create a well in the center of the mixture and pour the cream in the center. Stir gently only until the mixture comes together.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Sprinkle a small bit of flour over the dough and flour your hands. Place the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet.
- Gently press the dough to flatten into a circle that is an 8-inch diameter.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Nutrition
If you have ever stood in your kitchen craving something a little special but not wanting to deal with a long ingredient list… I got you with this one.
These chocolate chip scones use a box of cake mix as the base, and honestly… you would never even know. They come out golden, slightly crisp on the edges, tender in the middle, and loaded with melty chocolate chips.
Scones have a reputation for being dry or crumbly, but the cake mix changes all of that. It adds just the right amount of sweetness and a softer crumb that makes these feel somewhere between a breakfast pastry and a light dessert. That is kind of the whole point.
This recipe works great for a slow weekend morning or even an afternoon treat with coffee. You can make them in about 45 minutes start to finish, and the ingredient list is short enough that you probably already have everything on hand.
What You Need
You only need five ingredients to make these: cake mix, all-purpose flour, cold unsalted butter, heavy whipping cream, and chocolate chips.
Cold butter is the key here.
When it stays cold as you work it into the flour mixture, it creates little pockets of steam while baking that give you that flaky, layered texture scones are known for. Do not soften it first.
If you want to mix things up, you can swap the chocolate chips for white chocolate, use mini chips for a lighter chocolate flavor throughout, or add a handful of chopped nuts alongside the chips. A little orange zest mixed into the dough is also a surprisingly good addition.
How to Make Them
Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Stir together the cake mix and flour in a large bowl. Add the cold, cubed butter and use a pastry cutter to work it in until the mixture looks crumbly. Make a well in the center, pour in the heavy whipping cream, and stir gently until the dough just comes together. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Flour your hands and the dough lightly, then place it on your prepared cookie sheet. Press it into an 8-inch circle. Score it into 8 wedges if you want to make it easy to pull apart after baking. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
The most important thing to remember: do not overwork the dough. Stir and fold only until things come together. Overmixing will make your scones dense instead of tender.
A Few Tips Worth Knowing
Serve these warm, if you can.
The chocolate chips are still soft and melty straight from the oven, and the texture is at its best right out of the oven. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. To reheat, pop them in a 300°F oven for about five minutes or microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.
You can also freeze these before baking.
Cut the dough into wedges, freeze them solid on the baking sheet, then transfer to a bag or container. When you are ready to bake, add just a few extra minutes to the cook time and bake straight from frozen.
Why the Cake Mix Works So Well
Traditional scone recipes use sugar, leavening, and flour separately. The cake mix already combines those elements in the right proportions, which means fewer things to measure and a more reliable result. It also adds a subtle sweetness to the dough that pairs really well with the richness of the chocolate chips so you do not need to add extra sugar on top.
If you are someone who loves to bake but wants a shortcut that does not feel like a shortcut, this is it.
So easy with what we always have on hand!