Description
Deliciously flaky and cheesy scones with a golden crust, perfect for a savory snack or breakfast treat. These cheese scones combine shredded cheddar and baking powder for a light texture, enhanced by a buttery flavor and baked to perfection in just 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt or kosher salt (halve if using table salt, increase by 50% for flakes)
Wet & Fat Ingredients
- 100g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1 cm cubes
- 3/4 cup cold milk (preferably full fat), plus extra for brushing
Cheese
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or tasty cheese (packet shredded, tightly packed)
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese for topping
To Serve
- Butter, for spreading
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (fan-forced). This ensures the oven is hot enough to give your scones a beautiful golden crust.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: Place the flour, baking powder, and salt into a food processor fitted with an ‘S’ blade. Pulse once to combine the dry ingredients evenly.
- Add Butter: Add the cold, cubed butter to the processor and pulse 4 to 5 times until the largest bits are pea-sized, creating a crumbly texture. You can do this step by hand if preferred.
- Add Cheese: Add the shredded cheddar cheese to the mixture and pulse once to just incorporate it.
- Incorporate Milk: While pulsing 8 to 10 times, pour the cold milk through the feed tube. Stop immediately once the flour begins to just come together to avoid overmixing; the dough should be shaggy and slightly sticky.
- Form the Dough: Lightly flour your work surface (about 1 tsp) and scrape out the dough. Gently bring it together into a ball, using minimal extra flour to prevent dryness.
- Shape the Scones: Place the dough on a sheet of baking paper and pat it into a round disc about 3 cm (1.2 inches) thick. Brush the top and sides with milk, sprinkle the 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top, gently pressing it in. Cut the disc into 6 even wedges.
- Prepare for Baking: Transfer the baking paper with the wedges to a baking tray. Space the wedges about 5 cm (2 inches) apart to allow for proper rising.
- Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the surface turns golden brown.
- Cool and Serve: Let the scones rest on the tray for 5 minutes after baking. Serve warm, ideally spread with a little butter for extra richness.
Notes
- Use shredded cheese that is tightly packed in the measuring cup for best results.
- Baking powder must be fresh to ensure good rise.
- Butter should be very cold to create flaky layers; you can pulse by hand instead of a food processor.
- The scones can be cut into rounds if preferred instead of wedges, using a biscuit cutter.
- Milk brushing on top helps the cheese stick and gives a nice golden finish.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Baking
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
