Holy. FREAKIN. Cow. These cheese scones are amazing.
Jenny Colgan is the woman who inspired me to make scones. I had been smack in the middle of The Café by the Sea, reading about how Flora was making scones from her mother’s recipe book, when I was suddenly overcome with the need to make scones myself.
From scratch. For the first time.
At 6AM on a Saturday.
That is what this woman’s writing does to you. Colgan’s wonderfully descriptive paragraphs about food in The Café by the Sea and The Endless Beach are enough to make you want to install an IV drip of sugar and butter straight into your arm.
It seems only fitting that I would make cheese scones as my book-inspired recipe for The Endless Beach. These savory morsels are mentioned numerous times — Saif kindly reminds a patient that she can certainly have one each day, but perhaps not four — and there’s even a recipe for them in the back of the book.
I tried to find her recipe online so I could use it in this post, but I didn’t have luck with that. Instead, I crafted my own recipe for cheese scones based on the Blueberry Almond Scones recipe I posted last year.
I whipped up these cheese scones during The Great Conccusion, so I decided to make things easy on myself and use a food processor to create the dough instead of a handheld pastry blender. I may have created a Lazy Baking Monster in doing so. Making these scones with modern technology made the process SO EASY that I may never go back to using a pastry blender again. Just sayin’.
These light, flaky scones are a little piece of pastry heaven. Make sure you use GOOD cheese and GOOD butter in this recipe. This means full fat, people. Just do it. You won’t regret it. Colgan’s recipe at the end of The Endless Beach reminds us of the benefits of good quality ingredients, and I made sure to heed her advice. Using good ingredients always makes me feel a bit healthier anyways.
These cheese scones are totally not a health food, though. Because of all the aforementioned butter and cheese. Saif was completely right about only having one per day.
So, what do full fat ingredients yield? FLAKY TENDER GOODNESS. These soft, buttery morsels are packed with flavor. I love how the onion powder in the dough enhances the sharp tang of the aged cheese for the ultimate savory indulgence. I actually burned my hand on the baking sheet as I was taking it out of the oven because I was that excited to taste one of these scones.
As you can see, I used parsley on one batch and left the other one au naturel. Either way is absolutely delicious, though I have a slight preference for the pastries I brushed with some parsley butter. I love the extra hit of salt-and-onion flavor, and the parsley adds an eye-pleasing pop of color against the golden scones.
I think that cheese scones are best eaten fresh out of the oven while they’re still warm. However, I froze the leftovers to see how they would reheat, and I’m happy to report that they taste almost as good warmed up in the microwave. (Almost. Still go for fresh from the oven if you can.) Being able to reheat them is good, though; I mean, who could eat all 16 scones in one sitting? *awkwardly refuses to make eye contact* Not me, no sir.
Seriously, though, these scones are pretty hearty, so you’ll probably only eat one or two before you’re overflowing with cheesy baked goodness. Being able to freeze them is the key to enjoying them beyond baking day. I also recommend cutting them into smaller pieces than you would a dessert scone.
The cheese scones are great for serving alongside some tomato bisque or a small salad for lunch, or a steaming cup of tea for a mid-afternoon snack.
Cheese Scones
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS FOR SCONES
- 3 cups self-rising flour (plus more for kneading dough)
- 2 scant tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice for makeshift buttermilk**
- 1 cup milk for makeshift buttermilk**
- 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 egg, beaten
- 7 oz good Irish aged cheddar, finely grated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
INGREDIENTS FOR PARSLEY BUTTER
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- pinch of salt
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Mix up the makeshift buttermilk: Take a 1-cup measuring cup and add the tablespoon of lemon juice. Then fill up the rest of the cup with milk until you have one full cup. Whisk lightly and set aside.
- Cut ¾ cup butter into small cubes, then place back in the fridge to keep cold.
- Grate the cheese into a bowl and set in the fridge to keep cold.
- Beat the egg lightly in small bowl. Set aside.
- Chop fresh parsley and set aside.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, sugar, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp onion powder. Pulse a few times to combine ingredients.
- Add the cold butter cubes to the food processor, then pulse 5-7 times to combine. Once the butter is incorporated, the mixture should look like slightly lumpy sand.
- Add the cold grated cheese to the food processor, then pulse 3-5 times to combine. You may need to add the cheese in two batches.
- Carefully add the buttermilk mixture to the food processor, then pulse 3-5 times to combine.
- Carefully add the beaten egg to the food processor, then pulse several times, until a large ball of dough has formed and all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Once the dough comes together, turn it out onto a well-floured surface. Turn it over a few times and knead gently. Form the dough into a ball, then divide the ball into two pieces. Flatten each piece into a 1-inch thick disc.
- Transfer the discs to your prepared baking sheet and place them next to each other, leaving space in between. Use a serrated knife dipped in flour to cut each disc into eight (about equal) pieces.
- Brush the top of the scones with the 1/4 cup of milk.
- Bake scones at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick in the center of each scone comes out clean.
- In the meantime, make the parsley butter. Melt the 2 tbsp of unsalted butter in a small bowl in the microwave, then whisk in the ¼ tsp onion powder, chopped parsley, and pinch of salt.
- Remove baked scones from oven and immediately brush with the parsley butter while still hot. Let scones cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove scones to a wire rack. Serve while still warm, if possible.
