Cooking web notes

Cheddar and Chive Scones

The first time I made scones was a disaster.  It was years ago and they were inedible.  They were dry as a bone, crumbling into a hundred pieces.  Looking back at the recipe, I realized there was no liquid in it and that surely must have been the problem.  Now, I have moved on this to this great recipe and thankfully they are moist and hold their shape. 

The scone is a small British quick bread that is popular in North America also and can be sweet or savory.  The early recipes were made with oats, prepared into a large round cake and baked on a cast iron griddle in an open hearth.  To make it easily divide into portions, they were deeply scored before being baked. 

A scone is a wonderful thing:  buttery, soft yet firm with being very easy to make.  They are a lot like biscuits but do tend to get hard once they are cold, probably because the dough is on the dry side.  That’s OK though; just dunk them in a cup of coffee or tea!

This scone recipe includes lots of cheddar cheese, butter and chives.  I think maybe even a little lemon zest would give them great additional flavor.  One taste of these will tell you just how delicious they are!

Cheddar and Chive Scones

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1¼ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 stick butter, cut into ¼” slices

2/3 cup heavy cream, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon fresh chives

Method:

Heat oven to 425 degrees. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and pepper.

Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until mixture becomes like coarse crumbs.

Stir in 2/3 cup cream.

Add cheese and chives and combine with hands, dough will be crumbly.

Knead dough until it comes together.

Form into a ball and flatten slightly to 1” thick.

Transfer to a baking sheet.

Slice into quarters and then cut each quarter in half.

Brush tops with remaining cream.

Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm

Delicious!!!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 5:02 AM and is filed under Bread, Cheddar, Cheese, Chives, Scones. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.