Savoury Cheese & Chive Scones

I love a scone. That’s all. Just kidding, that’s not all. And I promise I won’t bore you with a million paragraphs of chat before we get to cheese scone recipe. However, please bear with me for the next 300-ish words so I can get that all-important SEO.

The aroma, taste and texture of a freshly baked scone are incredibly comforting and grounding. In particular, while enjoying afternoon tea or a bowl of hearty soup or stew on a crisp autumn or winter day. Or the very windy and rainy day that Storm Darragh blessed us with while I was drafting this blog. Perhaps slathered with butter. Or with some onion chutney and grated cheddar (yes, that’s a thing, but let’s not lose focus). It’s the perfect side or snack.

I’m partial to a cheese scone. Many tea rooms, cafes, bakeries and other establishments have their recipes on lock. Others, not so much. I know, because I’ve spent the last three-plus years tasting my way through the scones of England, Wales and Scotland. Feeling inspired, my subsequent efforts to replicate the better ones have been the best kind of research. After much trial and error, I’ve finally cobbled together a savoury recipe I feel happy to put out into the world. Even the Brit approves of this recipe and he isn’t a scone fan (I love him anyway). 

This cheese scone can stand on its own, but… the addition of fresh chives gives something beautifully extra, or ‘moreish’ as they say here in England. Rosemary also works, but you need a mild cheddar so the tastes don’t become too sharp.

As for texture, the goal is to be flaky, and that, my lovelies, means butter. I’ve tried using margarine, but it’s just not the same. I’ve also found that our kitchen scale is imperative in the success of scones. You can find a reasonably priced option on Amazon Canada here, or on Amazon UK here.

My mouth is watering just writing this blog post, so it’s time to move on and share the recipe. I hope you love it.

Cheddar Cheese Scones

Yasmine

A delicious melt-in-your-mouth savoury cheese scone recipe. Fab as a snack with some butter, and absolutely scrumptious paired with a homemade stew or soup. 

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Servings 8

Equipment

• Kitchen scale (HIGHLY recommend adding this to your kitchen arsenal)

Ingredients

  

• 450 g self-raising flour
• 110 g butter (cold, in small cubes)
• 100 g grated mature cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked blacker pepper
• 1 egg
• 150 ml milk
• 1 tsp English mustard (optional, but essential IMO)
• 2 tsp chopped fresh chives

Instructions

 

• Prep your ingredients and line a baking tray with parchment paper
• Add the butter and flour into a mixing bowl. Rub together with your fingers (or use a pastry cutter) until the mixture looks like fine bread crumbs.
• Stir in the salt, pepper, chives, and most of the cheese, leaving about 2 tbsp to sprinkle on top of the scones before you bake them.
• In a separate bowl or measuring cup, mix the egg with ¾ of the milk and (optional) mustard. Pour into the flour mixture, mixing a with a wooden spoon to roughly combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add leftover milk a bit at a time until everything comes together to form a dough.
• Divide the dough into two even pieces and very gently roll the pieces into large balls on a lightly floured surface. Flatten each one lightly, folding them over like a book, and then lightly flattening out again.
• Cut each into four wedges or use a cookie cutter to make as many scones as the dough allows (usually about 8).
• Place scones on baking tray and sprinkle the remaining grated cheese onto the scones. Place the tray in the fridge for 45 minutes or the freezer for 15-30 minutes to set the butter.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 C / 160 C fan / 350 F / Gas 4.
• Place the scone tray into the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until they rise, looking golden. Let them cool for a few minutes and then tuck in!

Notes

• Don’t overwork the dough; you will make them too dense. We want light and, ideally, flaky.
• Folding the dough gives the scones some lovely layered textures.
• Chilling the dough sets the butter so it and the gluten can work their magic.

Keyword Cheese scones, Scone, Scones, Snack