Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C). Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and orange zest. Cut in the butter with two knives or a pastry cutter or however you like until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Add the chocolate chips and then tablespoon by tablespoon, mix in the orange juice. Some days I need as little as three tablespoons, but some days I need six. Don’t over mix! You want to add just enough so that the dough holds together, but if you add too much, the dough will be muffin like and that’s not what we want. And there’s no need to knead it.
You can either transfer the dough to your Silpat or parchment paper and form a circle and then cut 8 triangles, or from the bowl, form 8 circular scones with your hands (again careful not to over mix!), but press them down a little bit. I mine to be about 3/4 inch thick. Sprinkle on some unrefined or granulated sugar if you like.
Transfer the scones to a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until slightly brown, about 12 – 15 minutes (it’ll depend on how big they are).
Let the gluten-free version cool before enjoying. It'll be slightly soft if you bite into one straight from the oven but it'll hardens as it cools. Like most scones, these are much better on the first day!
