Jun 29 2008

Cheesy Scones

After the piss-pouring rain put a damper on my pottering about in the garden, I decided to do a spot of baking. I don’t have much in the way of ingredients so I made scones, which are about the simplest thing you can bake. I found the original recipe in the Vegetarian Student Cookbook — which is brilliant even for non-vegetarians, but that’s a topic for another post — and adapted it to suit my needs.

Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour (plus some for the surface)
  • 50g butter
  • 2-3 handfuls grated cheese
  • 4 (slightly heaped) teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 200ml milk

Instructions

  • Turn oven on at 230°C (446 fahrenheit) / gas mark 8
  • Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl
  • Add the butter bit by bit, working it into the flour-mixture with your fingers
  • Add the cheese to the mix
  • Create a well in the middle of the cheese/flour mix, pour in the milk
  • Stir it all up to create a dough, dust a work surface well with flour
  • Knead lightly then roll out the dough evenly until approx. 1-1.5cm thick
  • Cut into round portions, or do what I did and use the rim of a glass to create evenly sized shapes
  • Cook on a baking tray in the middle of the oven for 7-10 minutes

That’s it! You can serve with a variety of dipping sauces or my personal favourite: chopped in half and spread thick with butter. If I hadn’t run out of flour, I think I’d have tried another batch with a touch of garlic in the mixture just to make them really savoury.

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26 Responses so far
  1. Amelie says: June 29, 2008 at 4:10 pm # ·

    Now then… Scone. Pronounced Scohne (as in ‘cone’ with an s on the front) or sconn (as in gone but with a sc instead of a g)?

    I vote for the latter but I am told I am majorly wrong. Tsk.

  2. Mari says: June 29, 2008 at 4:46 pm # ·

    That sounds yummy. Maybe I would make them if I could actually cook, which I definitely can’t.

  3. Jem says: June 29, 2008 at 4:49 pm # ·

    @Amelie: Scone as in con, ftw.

  4. Chien Yee says: June 29, 2008 at 5:10 pm # ·

    I always pronounced it s with a cone. *learns* I’ve never made any, but one day I’ll try :P

  5. Shen-Shen says: June 29, 2008 at 5:40 pm # ·

    Hmmm.. This sounds simple enough. Perhaps I’ll be able to make it with my limited domestic skills!

  6. Amelie says: June 29, 2008 at 6:21 pm # ·

    @Chien: Both ways of pronouncing it are correct, but I prefer scone as in con (that’s a better comparison than the gone one). Scone as in cone sounds posh and wrong to me :P

  7. Kim says: June 29, 2008 at 7:15 pm # ·

    I love scones! Will have to try out this recipe.
    Also I pronounce it scone as in con as well. ;)

  8. Mumblies says: June 29, 2008 at 7:33 pm # ·

    You mean to tell me you made cheese scones and didn’t bring me one? Right! not saving you any of my home made steamed treacle pudding with custard now :p

  9. Katy says: June 29, 2008 at 7:55 pm # ·

    mmm, I love cheese scones

    (also, scone as in gone, obviously)

  10. Clem says: June 29, 2008 at 8:18 pm # ·

    Mmm, sounds delicious! Thanks for the recipe.

    (I say sconn too.)

  11. Yesenia says: June 29, 2008 at 8:50 pm # ·

    Hmm, I don’t think I’ve ever tried that. But “cheesy scones” sounds really yummy! Especially the cheesy part! :D

    I’m definately going to have to try that recipe out!

  12. Rhys says: June 29, 2008 at 8:58 pm # ·

    I never got cheesy scones, I explained it to the next possible Mrs. Wynne (yes, a little exclusive for your blog), and she couldn’t understand it. They don’t have a sweet flavour and taste a little odd.

  13. DJ says: June 29, 2008 at 9:14 pm # ·

    Do you think you could use whole wheat flour? I’m not much of a baker so sorry if that’s a dumb question….

  14. Regina says: June 29, 2008 at 10:19 pm # ·

    Mm, tasty. *drools*
    It sounds really easy AND tasty, I think I will try it out!

  15. Amanda says: June 29, 2008 at 11:21 pm # ·

    Con.

    I made a batch of shake and bake scones the other weekend when I was away with the girls, but promptly forgot about them baking in the oven and went away to play pool. Came back only when the smoke alarm started beeping, to find a charred and blackened mess in the oven. LOVELY!

    The recipe sounds great though, I might have to give it a try. I’d assume you can substitute other things as easily – cinnamon for instance, or any herbs one might have on hand…

  16. Mari says: June 30, 2008 at 12:08 am # ·

    I pronounce it “cone”, “con” sounds weird to me.

  17. Robbie says: June 30, 2008 at 12:59 am # ·

    Unfortunately for me, this would be slightly more difficult as I would have to convert the measurements for USA Stupid. I honestly don’t know why this country insists on using different measurement systems that the rest of the English-speaking world.

  18. Dizzy says: June 30, 2008 at 4:49 am # ·

    I pronounce it as cone with an s.

    Oh well. Cheese sounds yummy! I’ve never tried scones with cheese.

  19. Jem says: June 30, 2008 at 8:26 am # ·

    I’d assume you can substitute other things as easily – cinnamon for instance, or any herbs one might have on hand…

    I think you can chuck pretty much anything you like in there, although if you aren’t making them cheesy, use less milk. (150-170ml would be fine)

  20. Chans says: June 30, 2008 at 8:52 am # ·

    it sounds good, but I don’t like cheese so I won’t make them. I love regular scones though, with jam and clotted cream

  21. nerd. says: June 30, 2008 at 10:05 am # ·

    Thanks, I’m at work and you’ve seriously made me hungry with at least 2 hours to go to lunch :(

    They sound delicious. If I ever bake again I might give these a go.

    And it’s scone as in con/gone.

  22. Robmarie says: June 30, 2008 at 8:01 pm # ·

    Scones!! *drool*

    Your domesticity amuses me :D I wish my oven worked; I’ve always had a secret passion for baking.

  23. Marie says: July 1, 2008 at 1:47 am # ·

    Oh! The epic scone pronunciation argument, it never ends.

    Jem, I recommend, next time you make a batch, that you add some fresh parsley to it. I find that it’s a really nice but subtle touch of flavor. :)

  24. Aimée says: July 1, 2008 at 2:10 pm # ·

    That sounds delicious! I must give it a whirl the next time I’m at the grocery store and have time to do some baking.

  25. Melissa says: July 1, 2008 at 2:53 pm # ·

    I love making scones, I didn’t realise until recently that I could actually bake.

    Have you tried adding chives to your cheese scones? It might sound weird but they are lovely.

  26. Tudor says: October 30, 2008 at 10:16 am # ·

    I usually have a raisin scone first thing in the morning with my hot tea as I’m waiting for the 05:58 train to London. I must try and cook some myself!

    I always think “now you see it now you don’t! One minute it was there now it’s gone (It was a scone)”

    Yay for diversity!!!