Coffee shop scones you can make at home

My friend, Gretchen, (co-owner of Zeus, dog of dogs, who recently spent a couple days chez nous) asked me to share my recipe for scones. These scones will prompt the most gratifying of all feedback a home baker can hear: "You really made these yourself?!" They're irresistable, and very easy to make.

Gretchen's husband Mike (the other co-owner of Zeus, duh) is a poet, and I took a batch of these to them when he recently had a reading at Watermark Books. Watermark is a very cool, friendly bookstore, cafe and bake shop near my house, where I sometimes stop in the morning to buy coffee and one of their delicious scones du jour. I can honestly say these are as good as any they sell or any I've ever had anywhere.

The recipe is from the new Bon Appetit Cookbook, edited by Barbara Fairchild. Buy it. It's fantastic, and the purchase price includes a one-year subscription to the magazine, which is the best resource on the planet for a cook who loves serving elegant food but has no appetite for any hassle in the kitchen. The recipe calls for cutting out the scones with a heart-shaped cookie cutter. I don't bother with that, I prefer a more traditional wedge shape.

Orange chocolate chip scones:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, diced
3 tablespoons grated orange peel, divided
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup chilled buttermilk
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional buttermilk (for glaze)

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl. Add butter and 2 teaspoons orange peel; rub in with fingertips or pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in chocolate chips. Whisk 2/3 cup buttermilk, egg yolk, and vanilla extract in small bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients; stir with fork until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into two balls. Press out each ball of dough on lightly floured surface to 3/4 inch thickness, shaping into a circle. Cut six scone wedges as if slicing a pie. Transfer to baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (375 if using convection). Mix remaining 3 tablespoons sugar with remaining 1 teaspoon orange peel in small bowl. Brush scones lightly with buttermilk. Sprinkle with orange sugar. Bake until scones are crusty on top and tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 15 minutes (check at 10 minutes if using convection oven) or up to 20 minutes if using chilled dough. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes a dozen scones.