Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Scones

These chocolate chip banana bread scones are perfection! If you love banana bread and also love a good, soft baked scone, you’re going to love this easy recipe!

two baked and glazed scones on white plate

Every single time I make scones, I give myself this internal lecture: Mel! Why don’t you make scones more often?!?

I love them. But clearly don’t make them often enough.

They are the perfect compromise between a biscuit and a muffin. Sweet, flaky, soft, tender, and so very yummy, scones are absolutely delightful IF they are made right.

And making great baked scones at home is easy if you start with a good recipe. This chocolate chip banana bread scone recipe is a really, really good recipe.

banana bread scone broken in half on white plate

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Scones

With a super soft crumb, these banana bread scones are flaky and ultra moist. The banana flavor comes through perfectly without overpowering, and the chocolate chips? Definitely not optional.

The scone dough is pretty basic as far as scone doughs go.

The dry ingredients are whisked together before cutting in a little butter. You can use a pastry blender or two forks to do the job.

OR, you can leave the butter whole (in stick form) and grate it in with a box grater and then just toss it with the dry ingredients.

cutting in butter and adding milk to scone batter

Once the butter is in small pea-size pieces, add the wet ingredients:

cream or buttermilk
mashed bananas
a little bit of vanilla

Mix for a second and then toss in the chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. Once the chocolate is added, I get in there with my hands and finish up the mixing and gentle kneading.

adding chocolate chunks and mixing scone batter

The key to perfect scones

Don’t over mix! Just like a good muffin batter, it’s that simple.

Over mixing scone dough can over develop the gluten which makes the scones dry and tough (it also melts the butter which is not ideal – you want the butter to stay clumpy so it melts in the oven creating pockets of steam which then creates layers of flakiness).

Pat the dough into a long, skinny rectangle. I like to cut my scones into small-ish triangles. But you can change up the shape and pat the dough into a circle or into a larger rectangle.

shaping scone dough into long rectangle

Use a bench scraper {aff. link} or sharp knife to cut the dough into wedges. The dough should be pretty soft, so dipping the edge of the knife lightly into flour between each cut may help.

cutting scone dough into triangles

Place the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

At this point you can bake right away (I always do; I don’t like to wait) OR you can refrigerate the dough until it firms up a bit. About an hour or up to 24 hours.

Sidenote: this scone dough works great baked in a scone pan, too. I’ve made them in this mini scone pan {aff. link} with great results (cute, perfect, little scones!)

scone triangles on parchment lined baking sheet

Bake those beautiful little scones for 15-20 minutes until just lightly golden.

Let them cool and then drizzle them with the sweet (and just slightly tangy) glaze. YUM!

Why do my scones twist and fall over when they bake?

The answer is – it could be due to a lot of things! And it happens to me with a few scones every batch. No worries; they still taste great!

Here are a few tips that might help:

don’t twist or turn the knife while cutting – make straight even cuts
if the dough is super super soft and sticky, add a bit more flour
chill the scones before baking to firm up the butter/dough
place them closer together on the baking sheet so they use each other to rise up instead of out
cut them smaller

several chocolate chip banana bread scones on baking sheet

No matter how they look coming out of the oven, the flavor of these banana bread scones is pure heaven.

Who knew banana bread was actually always meant to be a scone??

The mashed banana also helps keep these scones really soft and moist for days. And I love the texture of the crumb – it’s just every so slightly different than a traditional scone and absolutely perfect.

If you have bananas that are on their way to the ends of the earth, forget banana bread (just this once!) and make these scones! You won’t be sorry.

baked banana bread scone on white tray

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Yield: 12 scones

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Scones:

2 2/3 cups (13.25 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (2.5 ounces) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (4 ounces, 8 tablespoons) butter, cubed (I use salted)
2/3 cup cold heavy whipping cream or buttermilk (see note for buttermilk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (about 6 ounces) mashed very ripe bananas (1-2 medium bananas)
1 to 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (mini or regular) or chocolate chunks

Glaze:

1/2 cup (2 ounces) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon sour cream or buttermilk
1 tablespoon warm water
Dash of vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt (if using buttermilk, see note for adding baking soda). Add the butter. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut in the butter to the flour mixture until crumbly and the butter is in small pea-sized pieces. Alternately, you can grate the butter into the flour with the large holes of a box grater and toss to combine with the flour (don’t cut the butter into chunks, leave it whole as a stick).
In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the cream (or buttermilk), mashed banana and vanilla extract.
Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir with a fork or rubber spatula until it starts to come together and forms large clumps. Add the chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
Using your hands, knead the dough until it forms an cohesive mass and most of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and pat into a long, skinny rectangle, about 15-inches long by 2 1/2-inches wide. (You can alter the dimensions if you want larger or smaller scones.) Using a sharp knife or bench knife, cut the rectangle into 12 wedges or triangles.
Place evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate for an hour to firm up the dough (or up to 24 hours) or bake right away. If baking right away, the scones might lose a bit of their shape, but they’ll still taste great.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and baked through. Let cool completely or until just warm before glazing.
For the glaze, whisk together all the ingredients until smooth, thinning with extra water or milk, if needed. It should be thick but pourable. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the scones. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temp for 1-2 days.