whole wheat chocolate chip banana scones

I’m snacking on mango slices, baking a cake and writing about these whole wheat chocolate chip banana scones all at once — in other words, I’m living out the thesis of my food life.

It’s a bit of a metaphor for how my brain has felt lately, too — a little all over the place, a little chaotic, a little nonsensical. This week was crazier than expected and so, apologies for leaving you hanging last Thursday (but I hope you were cool with a few extra days to ogle over this gnocchi situation). Hopefully things in my life and on this blog will be back on track.

Now before we get to these scones — the reader survey results! In the Week of Crazy, I realized that I accidentally converged last year’s survey with this year’s survey, so the graphs I was planning to show of each response were all askew. D’oh. Thankfully, I was able to scroll through individual answers from this year, and you guys — thank you. So much. You all are incredibly thoughtful and insightful and downright kind. Overall, it seems like this space is just as enjoyable for you as it is for me, and I’m going to take that into account along with a few of your suggestions and constructive criticisms. (Also, if you want to know more specifics about the results this year, feel free to e-mail me!)

Aaaaaand now, these scones. Whole wheat chocolate chip banana scones, also known as “cookies” to the tot (her words, not mine), which I’m OK with because these are some of the healthiest “cookies” she’ll ever enjoy for breakfast.

These scones have been quickly disappearing, generally in the morning hours, after the pitter-patter of feet make their way into the kitchen — the husband’s to the coffeemaker, mine to the toaster and the tot’s to the container on the counter that currently houses the “cookies.” She knows one is about to make its way from the container to her melamine Minions-themed plate, and so she waits — sometimes patiently, quietly sipping on her milk, other times not so patiently, with chubby fingers reaching just over the counter’s lip in undeterred determination to snag one of those scones before Mom does it for her.

Thankfully they are just far enough out of her reach that we haven’t had a disastrous avalanche of the banana scone variety (that’s not to say it hasn’t happened with other foods stored on the edges of our counters). Soon, we all settle in with our breakfasts — the husband with a banana scone and a heap of cheesy eggs, me with a slice of peanut butter toast and a more modest heap of eggs, and the tot with compartments of eggs, clementines, blueberries and that beloved “cookie” covering the faces of Kevin, Stuart and Bob. She picks out and eats each chocolate chip first, naturally, and then proceeds to munch away at the rest. It’s crumbly but softer than most scones, thanks to the banana and brown sugar. The flavor is mildly sweet and cinnamon-y, the texture light and slightly chewy from the rolled oats, and the heartiness of the whole wheat flour is hardly detectable in any other way apart from its nutritious value. The chocolate chips offer little pockets of indulgence — as the tot has already come to discover.

Suddenly, the scone has disappeared and all that’s left is a smile — one on her face because she thinks she just got dessert for breakfast, and one on my face because she just ate something homemade and wholesome and actually enjoyed it, for once. There’s also a smear of chocolate on her cheek that I can’t help but smile at, too.

Whether you bake these for the little ones or big ones — or both — in your family, I hope you enjoy them as much as we have been.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Scones

★★★ 3 from 1 review

• Author: Girl Versus Dough
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 12 mins
• Total Time: 27 mins
• Yield: 8 scones 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour, plus more for shaping
• 1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 1/2 bananas)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

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Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; sprinkle lightly with flour.
2. In large bowl, whisk flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and brown sugar until combined. Use pastry blender or fingers to cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make well in center of mixture and add mashed banana and milk. Stir with wooden spoon or spatula just until dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips.*
3. Transfer dough to floured parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle a little flour on top of dough. Carefully shape dough into 7 to 8-inch circle. Use sharp knife to cut dough into 8 equal wedges. Separate wedges slightly on parchment paper.*
4. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until scones are baked through and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly before serving.
5. *NOTE: If the dough seems too warm or soft at this point, you can transfer it to the fridge to chill for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the recipe. The key is to keep the butter as cold as possible at all times, so this might be necessary after handling the dough.

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