Have you ever had an Emergency Chocolate Situation? I usually keep a bag of Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips on hand for these moments. I eat at least three or four a day. I honestly can’t remember having gone an entire day without chocolate. Ever. So when I was craving something sweet, chocolatey and frankly buttery and fattening for our weekend breakfast, I immediately glanced over at “THE BAG”.

BUT I am in a Biggest Losers challenge AND I truly hate to weigh in and know that nothing’s happening there so instead of going for the immediate knee jerk reaction to bake up some Bad Boy scones or muffins, my brain reached for a favorite go-to light scone recipe.

This recipe makes a very fluffy scone, perhaps not traditional, but absolutely YUM. I may have added a bit of bling to them with some mini chocolate chips, BUT at least they are packed with yogurt and a teensy bit of butter instead of the usual slab as most scones are infamous for. The one carton of vanilla yogurt can be switched out for whatever’s in the fridge to make these a little different every time. I had peach yogurt at the ready and it was an excellent addition.

These babies were literally INHALED at breakfast along side some scrambled eggs and Applewood Smoked bacon.  And before I had a chance to photograph these gems, I had a guest stop by. A guest who happened to ask if I had anything “just baked” .

Temporary amnesia took over, and I innocently answered, “No” because I hadn’t snapped a shot yet, but then my very sweet and honest daughter piped in with, “You made scones this morning!” as my guest’s eyes gave away his SHOCK and utter dismay that I may have kept these from him. I cut him a teensy sliver, saving a nice hunk for the photo. I am so bad.

—If you would like a cranberry and jam version of this fluffy low-fat scone, go here.

I was also “tagged” by Kristy from Eat, Play, Love a few weeks back with the “Bloggers Unplugged” quiz. So here it is.

1. What or Who inspired you to blog?  Elisa, from Seventeen and Baking inspired me to blog. Her blog is witty and heartfelt and she bakes like nobody’s business and she was ONLY SEVENTEEN when she started! I was amazed and still am by her. I guess I kind of wanted to give it a go after following her blog.

2.Who is your foodie inspiration? My foodie inspiration, hands-down, without a shred of doubt, is my mother. She can make EVERYTHING perfectly. From home style dishes like Chicken and Dumplings to from scratch breads like her famous Brioche Rolls for family birthday dinners. She also happens to be known for her gorgeous, towering apple pie. The list could literally go on forever because my favorites, my dad’s favorites and my brother’s favorites are all memorable and worthy of being at any five star restaurant.

3. Your greasiest batter-splattered cookbook is? The All-American Cookie Book written by Nancy Bagett. It has my favorite cookie recipes. So many that I started to realize most of my cookie recipes for the blog were coming from there, and then I decided to put a stop to that. I wanted you all to buy the book which deserves a purchase rather than getting each and every recipe from this blog. Honestly, there are at least 20 recipe which are my favorites (Black and Whites, her peanut butter chocolate chips, apple softies…)

4. Tell us about the best thing that you have eaten in another country, where was it, what was it?  In a hole-in-the-wall family shop on Kauai. No, I am not an idiot and yes, I do know that Hawaii is a state but I have only traveled out of the country as a teenager and didn’t feel like my palate was quite up to this question.  So, in Hanele on the  island of Kauai, the Village Snack Shop made a glorious Chocolate Haupia Pie with Macadamia shortbread crust. Holy Heck!  I replicated it here if you need some.

5. Another food blogger’s table that I’d like to eat at? Take a look at my blog roll; I would be more than happy to eat anywhere on that list. But if I had to pick one, it would be Linda’s at Savoring Every Bite. She combines her Italian heritage with a modern flair for healthy dining, and there is no questioning that this girl has real cooking chops. She is also a ton of fun—I can tell. I have told her many times that I would like to be her neighbor.

6. What is the one kitchen gadget that you would ask for this year? These days I am staying away from more gadgets since space is starting to become an issue, BUT I sure did like my mother’s new popover pans that she got for Christmas.

7. Who taught you how to cook? Easy peasy. My mom. See item two.

8. I’m coming for dinner, what is your signature dish? I believe you would be coming for dessert and coffee my friends so…I would offer up my Chocolate Malt Cake, my Three Musketeer’s Cupcakes (a family fave) OR my orange and rosemary infused chocolate chip cookies because they are my own creation and a big hit on my holiday cookie trays.

9. What is your guilty food pleasure? Chuao Chocolate, specifically the dark chocolate covered marzipan truffle.  I am very much in love with artisanal chocolate and Chuao definitely introduced me to its very happy world of chocolates with spice, chocolates with herbs and really good quality chocolate that can make you a crazy person.

10. Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn? I am the worst dog trainer known to man, and I would totally be a crazy dog lady if I didn’t get married and have kids. I would have 13 dogs (all adopted) running around and chaos would run rampant (as-if chaos is not already running amok around here)

Now for my five tags (no pressure folks):

Courtney from Misadventures in Cooking
Cali from Offally Tasty
Aimee from Clever Muffin
Lisa of Smart Food and Fit
Jeanne of Simple Math Bakery

Low-Fat Fluffy Scones (Pimped out version)

Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine
Makes about 8 good size scones.
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
3 T. butter,chilled and cut into small pieces
1 6 oz. carton vanilla low-fat yogurt (or any other yogurt you have)
2 oz buttermilk
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl and whisk to equally disperse ingredients. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or your hands until mixture resembles course meal. Add yogurt, and buttermilk just until dry ingredients are moistened (dough will be sticky). Add chocolate chips. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; with floured hands, knead 4 to 5 times. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or  lined with a Silpat mat. Cut dough into 12 wedges, cutting to but not through the dough; make a small slit in the center of each wedge.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and slightly firm when touched. Do the old toothpick test as well to make sure it is cooked through the center!