Because my family thrives on routine, we have a breakfast schedule for school days. It goes like this:
Monday: Homemade Yogurt and Fruit
Tuesday: Irish Oatmeal
Wednesday: Eggs, either "fixed" (hard boiled), "broken" (scrambled), or "sunny" (poached)
Thursday: Irish Oatmeal
Friday: Scones
My kids are good sports and very obedient. Monday through Thursday's choices please the majority of the household, but there is always something on the menu that someone in the family would prefer not to eat. As we say all the time, however, "You don't have to want to; you just have to do it."
Friday is a different story. Everyone lives for Friday, because everyone loves my scones. Usually I make these (the recipe also appears in my cookbook Comfortably Yum). But yesterday I realized that I was out of chocolate chips and needed to place another order. My kids like plain scones with jam, but the chocolatey ones are the ones they anticipate all week.
Fortunately, I came up with a solution. Why not add Nutella, that Italian miracle of chocolate-hazelnut goodness? I had an industrial-sized jar from the warehouse store just sitting in the cupboard. It certainly couldn't hurt the recipe any. I tried it and got magnificent results.
These scones are light, tender, and fluffy, with a rich, subtle cocoa-nuttiness. Despite their mouthwatering fragrance, they are not to be wolfed down, but should be savored along with a glass of cold milk. They are not very sweet, but the flavor develops complexity the longer you chew each bite. My board of reviewers gave them a unanimous shout of approval. Try them and let me know what you think.
Nutella Scones
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup Nutella spread
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix the first four ingredients together well. Add the Nutella to the melted butter and mix together until blended. Add the buttermilk and the Nutella mixture to the dry ingredients; mix only until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes. Makes 16 scones.