Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Scones

To say I was not happy about my 30th birthday was the understatement of the century. (Flashback to July, by the way!)

But so is saying I have the best hubby on the planet.

In short, while he shooed me away to a massage, he planned, cooked for, and threw an amazing surprise tea party. And it was no small feat! There were games (Sheryl Jeopardy, which included sound effects, buzzers, Daily Doubles, and Audio Daily Doubles; and pin the cane on Sheryl—not as happy about that one!), prizes from Godiva and Baskin-Robbins (enough for multiples when there were inevitable ties), and my favorite—all the food was labeled like I would have done. :) He even invited out-of-town friends (back in February!), some of whom actually came! The craziest part is that he took off of work the day before to prep it, but in order to not raise any eyebrows, he left the house in his work clothes as usual then spent the entire day at his parents' house making tea sandwiches (chicken salad, egg salad, cucumber mint), picking up an ice cream cake from my favorite ice cream shop at the only far-away store left in our area, and baking scones.

Not just any scones.

He got a recipe from a coworker, baked them on his day off about a week before the party while I was at work, then fed them to me as a test batch, saying his coworker made them. Wow! That coworker could bake!

Yeah, he made them and they were awesome. Here, finally, is the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Scones
makes 16 scones
4 c. all-purpose flour
3 T. sugar
4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cream of tartar
3/4 c. cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 egg, separated
1 1/2 c. refrigerated hazelnut nondairy creamer*
1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
Additional sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar. Cut in butter until crumbly with pasty blender or rub the butter into the flour with your hands. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolk and nondairy creamer together; add to dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10 times. Divide dough in half. Pat each portion into a 7-inch circle; cut into eight wedges. Separate wedges and place on a greased baking sheet or Silpat.

Beat egg white with a fork; brush over dough. Sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake at 425 for 15–18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with butter, clotted cream, or jam.

*Don't like hazelnut? The fun part is swapping out the hazelnut nondairy creamer for other flavors. Get creative!

Tea Party: Chocolate Chip Shortbread

I recently threw a tea party for some of my *gasp* Internet friends. Throw yourself a wedding, find theknot.com, and you'll quickly know what I mean.

Although my inspiration was British, my obsession is chocolate. Here's the menu:

Cream scones
Blueberry streusel scones
Lemon curd
Mock Devonshire cream
Pumpkin chocolate chip bread
Dark chocolate digestive biscuits (only McVities will do)
Cadbury Flakes
Egg salad tea sandwiches
Cucumber tea sandwiches
Goat cheese and watercress tea sandwiches

and

Chocolate Chip Shortbread
1 stick butter, diced (save the wrapper)
3/4 c. flour
3/8 c. cornstarch
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9-inch loose-bottom fluted tart pan (mine was 10.25 inches and turned out just fine, but watch it during cooking) with the remaining butter from the butter wrapper. Sift the flour and cornstarch into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar, then add the butter and rub it in (or "cut" it in with a fork, two knives, or dough blender) until the mixture starts to bind together.

Turn into the prepared tart pan and press evenly over the base. Prick the surface with a fork. Sprinkle the chocolate morsels and press lightly into the surface.

Bake at 325 for 35–40 minutes, or until cooked but not brown. Cut into portions. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

YUMMM.