Cheddar Scones with Chili and Chives

Recently, in our post about the strawberry scones, I wrote about some absolutely amazing cheddar scones that I ate from a local bakery.  They had a fabulously rich taste, they were buttery and cheesy and I swear I heard a choir of angels singing Handel’s Messiah with every bite I took.

Ever since that birthday, I’ve had these thoughts.  Could I make cheddar scones?  Could they be as awesome as those at Seven Stars Bakery?  I decided that last weekend, during a scone bake-a-thon that involved 3 dozen scones, was the day to find out.

Can we do it?  YES WE CAN!

I started with my basic scone recipe, which is essentially the strawberry scones without the strawberries added.  From there, I decided that a savory scone absolutely did not need vanilla, and I cut the sugar down by half.  However, I prefer my cheddar to have a bit of a kick, so I added in some chili powder and cayenne pepper.  Now that my scone dough was the complete opposite of the last batch, I tossed in some dried chives.

The cheddar scones baked up nice and flaky.  They didn’t have the buttery richness of the scones I was inspired by, but these were a damned good scone.  Because the cheddar used was shredded, it melted right into the dough, and every bite had a mellow, cheesy flavor.  You get some heat from the additional spices, and the chives give the scones an herby flavor.

Drop us a line if you try these, and let us know what you think!  We’re pairing them with some tomato soup, what would you have them with?

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Cheddar Scones with Chili and Chives

These cheddar scones feature the traditional scone recipe with a savory, spicy twist!

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword cheddar, chili, chives, scone

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 12

Calories 190 kcal

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 4 tsps baking powder
• 2 tsps sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tbsps butter cold or frozen cubed or grated
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk cold
• 3/4 cup grated/shredded chaddar
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp dried chives

Instructions

Scones

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.

2. In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together your flour, salt, sugar, chives, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and baking powder. Cut in your cold butter using your preferred method until the mixture has a rough, almost cornmeal-like texture; you could:

   Option 1: rub the chilled butter into the dry ingredients using your hands
   

   Option 2: mix butter and dry ingredients together using a pastry cutter
   

   Option 3: mix butter and dry ingredients in a food processor, then return to your medium bowl for the next steps
   

3. In a small bowl, beat together your milk and the two eggs. Add your wet ingredients and cheese to the dry and combine, stirring together until the mixture has absorbed all of the liquid. Give the dough some gentle kneading until it's smooth, then pour out onto a sheet of parchment paper.

4. Divide the dough into two balls, then roll each ball to about ¾" thickness and shape into roughly 6" rounds. Cut each round into six pie-shaped wedges, then transfer the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 22-25 miutes.

The Tart

The Tart likes to eat, cook, and bake things.  She eats to work out, and she works out to be able to eat.