Blender Mint Chocolate Chip Scones

Mint and St. Patrick's Day seem to go together in my book.  A bit weird possibly, but I think it's b/c mint is often associated with green.

I realize some people love mint (like me) and some people don't (like my husband who feels like he is brushing his teeth every time he eats mint).

Recently I had a tea party for some 10 and 11 year old girls I work with in church (Activity Days is the technical term).  We worked on manners.  Scones with tea aka white grape juice seemed so very proper and the perfect snack to work on proper manners.

Scones seem very proper aka English which  is oh so close to Ireland.    Therefore, Mint Chocolate Chip Scones seemed like the perfectly festive and proper St. Patrick's Day treat.

These scones are easy to make with no cutting in of butter, they have a delicious subtle mint taste, and are all around fluffy and fabulous.

As a bonus, there is no added sugar b/c you use honey instead; that basically makes me think they are healthy.  

I'm a big fan of these scones; they work for breakfast as well as a snack for an afternoon tea party.  I'll most definitely be working them into our rotation.  The kiddos loved them as much as I did; it's a win-win.    

Mint Chocolate Chip Scones
Recipe: Alohamora slightly adapted from CSA for Three
Active Time: 20 minutes
Inactive time: 20 minutes
Servings: 12 scones

Ingredients:

I c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp mint extract
3 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c. cold butter cut into small chunks
1/3 c. honey
1 bag (1 2/3 c.) mint chocolate chips (Tollhouse and Hershey make them)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. 
2. In a cup combine the heavy cream and mint extract. 
3. In a large bowl stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
4. Pour your flour mixture into a blender or a large food processor.  This cuts back on "cutting the butter in" (which saves a ton of time and effort) and gives you some amazingly light and fluffy scones.  Add your butter cubes to the top of the flour mixture.  Then pulse or blend the flour and butter until it looks like breadcrumbs.  I found attempting to keep a hole in the middle of the blender mixture and using a knife I would slowly push a little of the mixture into the middle where the hole is down to the spinning blade.  This would blend the mixture together and end up pushing the mixture up the outsides of the hole.  I would work my way around the blender working the flour and butter together until it looks like breadcrumbs.
5. Add the honey to the cream mixture and stir well.   
6. Pour the butter and flour mixture back into your large bowl and add the honey and cream.  Stir the mixture until combined.  
7. Finally, add 1 cup of the mint chocolate chips to the dough and stir it until just combined.  With the rest of the chocolate chips you will be decorating the tops with the scones.  
8. Place your dough ball straight onto a floured surface.  Using your hands gently (if you work the dough too much it can become tough, flat, and heavy) pat the dough into an even 10-12 inch disk. 
9. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough circle into 12 equal pieces. 
10. Using a spatula place the individual scones onto your prepared pan/cookie sheet.  The dough won't spread out so you can place all 12 on a single cookie sheet.
11. Using your leftover chocolate chips decorate the tops of the scones.
12. Bake at 325 for 18-22 minutes until the bottoms (you'll see it on the bottom edges) turn a golden brown.  
13. Allow scones to finish cooking/cooling on the pan. 
14. Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature. Store in a airtight container for ideal freshness for days.    
15. Enjoy!