If you prepare the onion frittata with roasted tomatoes I posted about a month ago, you’ll likely have some ricotta left over. Don’t let it go to waste! Use the surplus cheese to make these orange ricotta scones with dark chocolate chunks.
I baked a batch on Sunday and already devoured three of the pastries. They’re light, tender and infused with citrus zest and juice. (I’m guessing they’d be delicious with white versus dark chocolate, too). Serve orange ricotta scones for breakfast, brunch or dessert (alongside your favorite ice cream).
Recipe adapted from Baker by Nature.
Orange Ricotta Scones with Dark Chocolate Chunks
Makes 8-10 scones
Ingredients
Dough:
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- ½ cup ricotta
- 4-6 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 egg
- ½ cup roughly chopped dark chocolate
Finish:
- heavy cream or half-and-half
- 1 tablespoon Demerara sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse meal.
- In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta, 4 tablespoons orange juice and egg; mix well.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. If it is crumbly, add more orange juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the ingredients start to come together. Gently fold in the dark chocolate.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a ¾"-thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half, turn it 90 degrees and pat into a ¾"-thick rectangle. Repeat the process, flouring your work surface as necessary to prevent sticking.
- Cut out scones with a round cutter and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Press together scraps and cut out one or two more scones.
- Brush tops of scones with heavy cream or half-and-half, and sprinkle with Demerara sugar.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer scones to a wire rack to cool.
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