Matt and I used to hate Valentine’s Day, because, like, corporate holiday and hetero-normative depictions of what love looks like etc. But, the past couple of years…things changed. I don’t know if I’m just suddenly more sappy (I am), or if an emotionally turbulent mid-twenties has got me feeling more grateful for what I’ve got (it has), but I’m like all right with Valentine’s Day now. There are fun, sweet gifts you can give your favorite people (and we’ve even promoted some really great ones!), but you don’t necessarily have to spend lots of money to send a message.

When I was growing up, Valentine’s Day was fun first and foremost cause there was always a special breakfast before school… like, nothing fancy, but maybe we’d have waffles with whipped cream and strawberries. It was the shit. And then I’d go to school and it’d be all “here’s CANDY motherf%&#$s!” and we’d all be all scream in delight. It was a great time, and sweet sweet sugar was a big part of it.

So when I started thinking about something to make for Valentine’s Day, my mind whirled around sweets like pink cakes and cupcakes and strawberry ice cream. And then I remembered that the fun for me was always on Valentine’s Day morning—and how freaking nice would it be to wake up to fresh-baked, raspberry and white chocolate scones topped with shiny pink frosting? It would be very nice, is the answer I’m looking for.

And I know what you’re thinking: scones are like the stepchildren of the baked world. You didn’t really want them, but now they’re there so okay I’ll deal with it (as a stepchild I can say this and I’m also kidding, so please don’t yell at me!). But they’re not as glamorous as the other girls, like donuts and croissants. I hate to break it to you but you’ve been done wrong. Fresh scones are abso-fucking-lutely delicious, especially my scones which are basically glorified cake, and unlike those other girls, you can make them in a flat 40 minutes from start to finish including baking time. Perfect for V Day morning.

Let’s dive into the recipe mmk!

Looking for something less pink / gay / sweet? Check out our blueberry earl grey scones that are the talk of the town.

Literally The Best Raspberry White Chocolate Chunk Scones

makes 8 scones

Scones

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour*
1/3 cup cane sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) very cold unsalted butter (you can pop in freezer for 30 minutes before using)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Zest of 1 orange
1 heaping cup frozen raspberries
10 oz white chocolate chunks*

Pink Glaze

1 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup cane sugar
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon orange extract (optional but a huge game changer!)

Method

With a rack in the center position, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
To make the scones, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Use the large-hole side of a box grater (see reference image above) to grate the butter over the flour mixture, folding in the butter as you go. Then, use your whisk like a potato masher (pounding it up and down into the flour) to cut in the butter until there are no butter lumps larger than a pea. If you’re not using a wire whisk, you can use a pastry blender to cut in the butter. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, vanilla extract, almond extract and orange zest and pour it evenly over the flour mixture, using a rubber spatula or spoon to mix in evenly just to combine. Fold in the raspberries and white chocolate—You may need to do a gentle kneading of the dough to get all your goodies mixed in, but try to avoid overworking the dough, just mixing until combined.
Turn out the scone dough directly onto the prepared baking sheet and use your hands to mold the whole thing into a big disk. Cut it into 8 slices like a pizza (see reference image below), and use a spatula to gently pull the slices about 3” apart from each other to give the scones room to rise.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool before glazing.
To make the glaze, combine the raspberries and 1/4 cup cane sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often until the raspberries break down and a syrup begins to form, about ten minutes. Once a thick syrup has formed and the raspberries have completely lost their shape, transfer the ~ goo ~ to a saucer, and set aside. In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar and whisk in the whole milk, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. You want this to be pretty thick so it doesn’t run everywhere, and you may only need 1 tablespoon. Whisk in the raspberry sauce, one teaspoon at a time, until the desired color is reached. Pipe or spoon over your cooled scones. You can serve the extra raspberry sauce alongside the scones for spreading, if you’d like!

Notes

To correctly measure your flour: use a spoon to fluff the flour in the container, gently spoon flour into your measuring cup and level off, then add to your mixing bowl. Scooping the flour right out of the container will compact it and result in far too much flour in your scone dough!
We used one and a half Tony’s Chocolonely Raspberry White Chocolate Bar for this and it was perfect. You want to chop well enough so that you don’t have any pieces larger than 1/2”. If you chop too large, the scones may be hard to cut prior to baking, and if you chop too small, the white chocolate pieces may dissolve into the scones and give less of a “chunk” effect (but will still be tasty!). You can also use white chocolate chunks or white chocolate chips here.