Quick and easy cheese scone recipe

15 Oct 2020

Light and fluffy, still warm from the oven – cheese scones might just be the ultimate savoury snack. And making cheese scones is also a great way to use up any scraps leftover from the cheeseboard!

Most bakers suggest using Cheddar, Red Leicester or other mature hard cheeses for your savoury scones. We recommend Black Bomber, Pwll Mawr Mature Cheddar or Harlech to name a few. However, cheese scones are surprisingly versatile and once you’ve mastered this simple recipe, why not experiment? Great flavour combinations include blue cheese and walnut, and goats’ cheese and sun-dried tomato – or you could go for an extra Welsh twist with Caerffili and leek.

Tips for making cheese scones

• Don’t let the dough get too dry. The moisture turns into steam, which helps scones rise.
• Try not to overwork the dough. Minimal handling is best!
• Roll out the dough to no thinner than 2.5cm, or they may come out flat.
• Don’t twist the cutter when creating your scone shapes – the edges will stick together, preventing a good rise.

Our simple cheese scone recipe

Prep: 15 mins | Cook: 15 mins | Makes: 4-6 scones

Ingredients

• 225g self-raising flour, sifted – plus extra for dusting
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 55g cold, unsalted butter
• 180g grated/crumbled mature hard cheese (120g for dough, 60g for topping)
• 70ml cold milk, plus 1tbsp for glazing
• 70ml cold water

You will need:

• Sieve
• Large bowl
• Cheese grater (unless using a very crumbly cheese)
• Non-stick baking tray
• 6cm round pastry cutter
• Pastry brush
• Cooling rack

Method

1. Put the baking tray in the oven and turn the heat to 220°C/200°C fan.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and mustard powder in a bowl.
3. Cut the butter into cubes and add it to the mixture, rubbing it with your fingertips until it looks like bread crumbs. Don’t worry if there are some small lumps of butter left.
4. Add two-thirds of the cheese (120g, plus any optional ingredients) and mix by hand until evenly distributed, taking care not to melt the butter.
5. Add the milk and water and mix gently into a soft, smooth dough.
6. Place the dough onto a floured surface – do not knead it. Press flat with the heel of your hand until it’s roughly 2.5cm thick.
7. Cut out scones using your cutter, reshaping off-cuts to allow you to cut out more discs.
8. Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk and sprinkle with the remaining 60g of cheese.
9. Remove the pre-heated baking tray from the oven and place the scones onto it, evenly spaced.
10. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
11. Place onto a cooling rack and eat as soon as possible!