Chocolate Scones Make A Great Base For Strawberry Shortcake

I had a hankering for scones on Tuesday. Also had the need for some chocolate. Initially I was going to make my old standby: chocolate chip scones. BUT (and thank goodness there is a BUT to this story) I decided to check online for some other options. And found this recipe. Which is amazing. Which also makes a GREAT base for strawberry shortcake. But can be eaten alone and savored for each bit of chocolatey goodness. Or with a little strawberry or raspberry jam for a little extra kick. These were so good I'm making another batch today. And sharing it with you. 'Cause that's the kind of friend I am.

For even more chocolate-laden recipes, head on over to Fried Okra where Megan has graciously shared some of her favorites PLUS has Mr. Linky up for others to share, too. Or check out these other chocolate recipes I've posted: Party Parfaits and Best Chocolate Pudding Ever.

CHOCOLATE SCONES
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa (I prefer the Dutch processed cocoa)
1/2 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup chunked chocolate (your favorite candy bars) OR chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together cream, egg and vanilla in small bowl, set aside. Mix dry ingredients (flour through salt). Cut butter into dry mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in chocolate chunks (or chips). Add cream mixture to flour mixture until dough comes together. (I had to add a couple more tablespoons of cream in order for it to hold together.) Transfer to floured surface and form 8" circle. Brush top with a little cream and sprinkle on couple spoons of sugar. Cut into 8 pie shaped slices and transfer to greased baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Allow to cool and ENJOY.

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We have tentative travel plans! We were offered some frequent flier miles that would have covered one of our tickets and hubby spent about two hours on the phone trying to figure out a way to use them. But unfortunately it didn't work out. The miles were with an airline partnership that could get us to Argentina but not our final destination and the one ticket we would have had to pay for was WAY expensive.

So hubby fell back on the info he'd collected on Monday and made reservations to travel on AUGUST 15th!!! The flight from Detroit to Miami is non-stop which is always a plus in my book. And the flight to Argentina is overnight and since I've learned (finally!) to sleep on the plane, should help us arrive somewhat rested.

But now all the things that COULD go wrong are spinning tales in my head. Lost luggage...canceled flights...missing connections...problems with our paperwork... I'm a much more relaxed traveler than I was before (hate to see what I was like then, heh?) but I'm afraid my "cup half empty" view of life will trip me up every time. I'm trying to overcome this tendency. Anyone else struggle with this? Tips and advice gratefully accepted.

Must head back to the basement as the packing continues. It's the odd shaped items that are a real challenge to pack. I hate to have any little empty "pockets" in boxes so I find myself running around trying to find other odd shaped things that will fit in and finish filling the box.

But as a reward for all my hard work, later I can enjoy some delicious strawberry shortcake made with the very delicious chocolate scones. Mmmmmm, good!