Cheese Scones are very, very delicious things. So delicious that every time I bite into one warm and slathered with the obligatory salted butter, I actually swoon. I always feel like I've suddenly joined the W.I and cannot understand why I don't bake a batch every morning.
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What are Scones?
Baking these in my kitchen makes me feel pretty accomplished. They look good, they taste incredible and my kitchen smells like Mary Berry's....I imagine obvs.
Scones have been with us since the 1500's or so the book says.
They originated in Scotland in a more oaty form and were cooked on a griddle. Much like Welsh Cakes I would have thought.
They are a very simple thing to rustle up and knock the pop socks off anything that you can buy in a supermarket.
How to make light and fluffy scones.
*The trick is not to overwork the dough too much and to not have your dough too dry. Minimum mixing, handling, rolling and shaping. This needs to be kept in mind right from the beginning.*
A light and fluffy scone warm from the oven can be moment stopping. Whether sweet plain scones or savoury I care not as long as they are slathered in butter.
You can serve them as a snack, a side or just because. I very much like them just because......
*You Can Scroll Straight Down For The Recipe Card for the exact ingredients and instructions.*
This recipe will give you 5-6 tall scones using a 6 cm wide cutter. So a small batch but mighty in height.
Equipment Required
- scales
- measuring jug
- grater
- flat bladed knife
- mixing bowl
- rolling pin - optional
- 6 cm scone cutter or similar
- lined flat baking tray
- pastry brush
- fork to beat egg wash
- cooling rack
Ingredients
225 grams (8oz) Plain Flour - I tend to have just plain flour (All Purpose Flour) but if you have self raising then simply omit 1 tsp of baking powder.
2 level tsp Baking Powder - Only add 1 tsp if using self raising flour.
150 mls Milk - I use semi skimmed because that is what I always have in the fridge but full fat milk is good too.
120 grams (3.5oz) Cheese - It needs to be mature cheddar for the flavour.
1 gram Salt - Fine salt
50 grams (1.75oz) cold butter - It needs to be butter and not baking margarine. If using salted butter then only add half of the salt in the recipe.
Method
- Preheat your oven to 200 C(180 fan)/400 F/Gas Mark 6.
- Cube the butter up into 2cm cubes and add to the 225 grams flour, 2 tsp of baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
- I tend to use my food processor to "rub" the butter in as it takes about 20 seconds and I'm all about the short cut, you are looking for fine breadcrumbs. But rubbing in with your fingers is fine too.
- Add the cheese Louise.
- Pour in the wet ingredients and using a wide bladed knife, mix until it starts to mostly come together into a shaggy dough...."it wasn't me"
- I then get in there with my hands and squish it gently together into a more complete dough ball. Make sure you have added enough milk so that the dough is wet enough to do this. The dough should come together easily but not be sticky to the touch. Pay close attention kids to this as it's difficult to right this after this stage is complete.
- Try to handle it the least amount that you can. The lighter you go the higher they will rise.
- Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and GENTLY shape and roll into a thickness of about 3.5 cm. Try to get the whole thing even.
- I don't usually use a rolling pin. I simply flatten with my hands but you can if you prefer. However it matters not to me to have a bit of a slope going on. Who cares about the rustic look, you're baking with cheese here.
- I use a 6 cm cutter and get about 5 or 6 out of the dough.
- I usually get 3 out of my first shape/roll and then keep shaping and cutting often times one at a time as I can't keep the thickness and get 2 rounds cut at the same time. This annoys the whatnot out of me every time...I do dip my cutter in loose flour to stop the scone mix sticking to it.
- Sometimes I have to fashion the last one the best I can as there is not enough dough to be cut out with the scone cutter.
- Go very gently when you get the scones out of the cutter. I try to get them drop out by their own accord by a bit of gentle shaking. Also don't twist the cutter just push straight down.
- Brush the tops with milk or egg and put on a lined baking tray.
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes. I find it is usually the full 15 minutes but all ovens are different.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Pro Tips
- Don't be tempted to damp down the strength of the cheese. It needs a strong cheese hit for the flavour.
- Make sure you have added enough milk so that the dough is wet enough. The dough should come together easily but not be sticky to the touch.
- Be careful not to overwork the dough. Just enough to bring it all together and so that the mixture forms a dough.
- Don't twist the cutter just push straight down when cutting out the scones.
- Dip your cutter in flour before you cut each scone out.
- I always advise an oven thermometer as the temperature can really vary oven to oven. My last oven was always much hotter than the dial indicated.
- Check your baking powder is in date!
Can I freeze them?
The answer is yes. This batch is a small batch so easily eaten in a day but if you do a double batch then freeze away.
They should be frozen on the day of baking once completely cold. I put them in a plastic freezer bag and then another so there is a double plastic layer.
I use the large sandwich freezer bags but you could put them in a tupperware tub after the first bagging to protect them from getting knocked if your freezer is rammed.
They will freeze well for at least 2 months.
When I want them again I retrieve the bag out of the freezer and leave them in there to thaw for 3 hours.
Take them out of the bag and reheat gently at 150 C/300 F/Gas Mark 2 for ten minutes.
How to make them gluten free?
To make these cheese scones gluten free simply exchange the plain flour with plain gluten free flour.
A expert gluten free fellow blogger advised me that a lot of times gluten free flours absorb more liquid than standard flour so add 50 mls more milk to the mixture.
Serving Suggestions
I love them warm and spread with salted butter but also delicious with some chutney and extra cheese or pair them with a salad or soup.
Great for a picnic too or child friendly snack on the go.
I sometimes use them as a bit of a side dish.
I particularly like to serve them with:
Easy Cheese Scones
Ingredients
- 225 grams plain flour
- 50 grams unsalted butter cold
- 150 mls milk
- 120 grams mature cheddar
- 1 gram salt
- 2 tsps baking powder.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C/400 F/Gas Mark 6.
- Put 225 grams flour, 2 tsps baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl or food processor.
- Rub 50 grams cold butter into the flour with your fingertips or whizz with the flour in the food processor for 20 seconds or so until you are looking at fine breadcrumbs in your bowl.
- If using a food processor then tip the fine rubble into a large mixing bowl.
- Tip the 120 grams of mature cheddar cheese into the bowl and then pour in the 150 mls milk.
- Using a wide bladed blunt knife or similar stir the milk into the mixture until you get a shaggy dough.
- Now is the time to get your hands in and squish the dough into a smoother mass of dough still in the bowl. Make sure you have added enough milk so that the dough is wet enough to do this. The dough should come together easily but not be sticky to the touch. Pay close attention to this as it's difficult to right this after this stage is complete. Empty it out onto a very lightly floured surface.
- Using your hands (or a rolling pin) very gently roll/shape out the dough to 3.5 cm thick. It will be a relatively small shape. Using a 6 cm cutter or similar cut out the scones.
- Reshape the left overs and gently repeat until you run out. If the last is not enough to fashion a whole scone then just use your hands to make a scone shape. That one is yours......cooks perks.
- Brush with milk or eggwash and bake for about 15 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack a little before slicing open warm and slathering with butter.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is approximate and intended only as a guide.
Do let me know how you got on in the comments below or tag me in your social media. I love a good old hairy chin wag. Here are my Facebook and Instagram pages.
Lisa Alford says
Fabulous ?
applytofaceblog says
Thanks beautiful xx
Janet Minnis says
Great, but could do with them rising more. What am i doing wrong
Jenny says
You probably didn't make them high enough when you first cut them out. Or maybe the baking powder was out of date? I do usually find that if you make them high when you cut them out it does the trick. Thank you for reaching out.
Jill Martin says
First time I have baked cheese scones and was amazed how easy it was thanks to the brilliant recipe. Amazing results. 5 ⭐
Jenny says
Thank you so much for letting me know, They're gorgeous aren't they!
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
I absolutely love cheese scones and you've got a great rise on these!
Ai says
Yum! I love cheesy anything, but these scones look delightful!!
Jacqui says
You are so right a scone warm from the oven is just divine. I so want to eat eat one now If i didnt have to get on I would be down in the kitchen this minute to knock up a batch.
applytofaceblog says
You're right! They are the sort of thing that one bite and you can't understand why you don't bake them all the time!
Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder says
Cheese scones must be one of the world's most unexpected pleasures! So simple and unassuming but definitely delivering on big, bold, cheesy flavour. Love your easy and straightforward recipe! Thanks for sharing with #Baking Crumbs 🙂
applytofaceblog says
Thanks Jo. I love a cheesy classic!
Rebecca - Glutarama says
These look sooooo good, I really miss cheese scones, I don't make them anymore basically because I cannot tolerate dairy or eggs...but this is really selfish of me so you've inspired me to make them for the family...as my daughter is Coeliac I will be making these gluten free which as you've pointed out should be fine with substituting the flour for gluten free flour. In my experience gluten flour absorbs more liquid so I'll add another 50ml+ milk to get the right consistency.
applytofaceblog says
Oooh good tip. Thanks I will amend. Baking with cheese is just so good isn't it?
Helen - Cooking with my kids says
These look delicous (but I do looooove cheese scones!)
applytofaceblog says
And me...bring on the cheese....
Hannah says
These look delicious (and so cheesy!) Do you think they'd work using other types of cheese or a mixture - maybe some mozzarella or parmesan? #bakingcrumbs
applytofaceblog says
Thank you. I'm sure parmesan would be good but not as good as strong cheddar in my humble opinion!
Carol Price says
Is it okay to substitute dairy free cheese?
Jenny says
Hi Carol, I never have but I would think it would be. Thanks for reaching out!x
Lucy Farnsworth says
Just a quick thank you for the recipe. I used it to enter my work‘s scone baking challenge and won!
Jenny says
Thank you soooo much for this!! That is the best news !!!! I'm so pleased. They are pretty fabulous aren't they. I can call them award winning now!xx
Moira McGuinness says
I’ve just made Cheese scones from your recipe. Absolutely delicious! Easy recipe, great instructions. Big success and devoured by my guests today. Served them fresh from the oven and whilst still warm. Thanks for this great recipe x
Barbara says
Hi Jenny could I use salted butter & reduce the actual salt used?
Jenny says
Hi Barbara, Yes you can if you want, I love my salt so I usually use both!