Chocolate Chip Scones | Sourdough Discard

Sep 15

3 min read

These sourdough discard chocolate chip scones are buttery, tender, and just sweet enough, with crisp golden edges and plenty of chocolate in every bite.

They're also one of my favorite kinds of recipes: an easy way to use something I always have in my refrigerator — sourdough discard — without needing to actually bake a loaf of sourdough bread.

For this version, I use allulose in the dough along with sugar-free chocolate chips, then sprinkle just one tablespoon of real cane sugar over the entire batch before baking. That little bit of sugar on top adds a wonderful crunch and pop of sweetness right where you notice it.

They're especially good slightly warm with a cup of coffee or tea — and if you're feeling particularly indulgent, try one alongside a scoop of Tiramisu Ice Cream.

Why You'll Love These Scones

These aren't overly sweet bakery-style scones. They're buttery, tender, and chocolatey, with just enough sweetness to make them feel like a treat.

Using allulose in the dough keeps the added sugar considerably lower, while that small amount of cane sugar on top provides a little extra sweetness and texture.

And they're surprisingly simple to make. There's no mixer required and no complicated shaping — mix the dough, form it into a round, cut it into wedges, chill, and bake.

For me, this is intentional indulgence: enjoying the foods I love while changing the ingredients that make sense for the way we eat today.

Ingredients

Yield: 8 scones

Oven: 400°F

2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour (unbleached)
1/3 cup (65 g) granulated allulose
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, very cold
1/2 cup (120 g) sourdough discard, cold
1/3 cup (80 g) heavy cream, cold, plus more if needed
1 large egg, cold
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar-free chocolate chips
Heavy cream, for brushing
1 tablespoon cane sugar, for sprinkling

Ingredients We Use ❇️ Whole Earth Allulose Blend ❇️ Bake Believe Chocolate Chips ❇️ Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste

Equipment We Use ❇️ OXO Pastry/Dough Cutter

❇️ Silicone Baking Mats

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, allulose, baking powder, and salt.
Cut in the butter. Add the very cold butter and use a pastry cutter or box grater to work it into the flour, leaving small pieces of butter throughout.
Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk together the sourdough discard, heavy cream, egg, and vanilla.
Make the dough. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently mix until a shaggy dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips. If needed, add a little more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Shape and cut. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently form into a 7–8-inch round, about 1 inch thick, and cut into 8 wedges.
Chill. Transfer to the baking sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes or freeze for 10–15 minutes.
Finish the tops. Brush with heavy cream and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cane sugar over the scones.
Bake for 18–23 minutes, until risen and golden around the edges. If they're browning too quickly, loosely cover with foil.
Cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

A Flexible Approach

Once you have the basic sourdough scone method down, it's an easy recipe to customize.

Instead of chocolate chips, try blueberries, raspberries, chopped nuts, or another favorite mix-in. Just be careful with very juicy fruit, which can add additional moisture to the dough.

You can also adjust the sweetness to your taste. I particularly like this version because the scone itself isn't overly sweet, while the chocolate and little bit of cane sugar on top provide those sweeter bites.

How to Serve Them

These are excellent with coffee or tea for breakfast, brunch or an afternoon treat. Since we don't normally sweeten our coffee, I particularly liked the little pop of sweetness from the cane sugar topping alongside it.

And completely unintentionally, we discovered another pairing: a warm chocolate chip scone with Tiramisu Ice Cream.

Final Thought

Using better ingredients doesn't have to mean removing every indulgence from a recipe.

Here, allulose does the heavy lifting inside the scone, while just one tablespoon of real cane sugar across eight scones adds sweetness and texture where it makes a noticeable difference.

That's exactly the kind of tradeoff I like: use less sugar, use it intentionally, and still make something genuinely delicious.