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Cheese Scones (Hands Off)

A foolproof cheese scone recipe that is impossible to over-handle

Course Snack
Cuisine British
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Servings 10

Ingredients

  • 340 g self-raising flour (plus extra for dusting)
  • 80 g unsalted butter chilled and cut into cubes
  • 120 g strong/extra strong cheddar cheese finely grated
  • 40 g parmesan or grana pedano fine, freshly grated
  • 150 ml milk (plus extra for glazing)
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • tsp cayenne pepper (see notes for alternatives)

Instructions

  1. Preheat a lined metal baking sheet in a 200 °C oven. It is very important to have the baking sheet ready and hot, so do not skip this step.

  2. Place flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper in a food processor and pulse several times until all dry ingredients are combined.

  3. Add the cubed butter to the food processor and stir with a spoon to coat in flour. Pulse the blender in very short bursts of no more than 1 second until the butter is fully combined in the flour, which now resembles fine breadcrumbs in texture.

  4. Add all of the cheddar and ¾ of the Italian cheese, and pulse again to combine.

  5. Add all but a splash of the milk and pulse for a few seconds at a time until the mixture starts to come together to form a crumbly dough. It won't form a solid lump, but you should see the start of it coming together. If it isn't, add the last splash of milk and pulse again.

  6. Remove from the processor onto a floured surface and briefly press together until it is a single lump. It may be full of cracks, and that is fine. You are not looking for a smooth dough.

  7. Roll to 2cm in thickness. Again, cracks in the dough are fine.

  8. Cut into triangles or hexagons using a sharp knife, or into rounds using a 7cm fluted cutter.

  9. Glaze with a thin coating of milk using a pastry brush

  10. Remove hot baking sheet from oven and place scones quickly on it. Sprinkle the remaining Italian cheese on top and return to oven and bake for 16-18 minutes until lightly coloured on top.

Recipe Notes

For a flavour twist on these cheese scones, swap out the cayenne pepper with some onion or garlic powder and some finely chopped chives, or use a hot smoked paprika or a pinch of mustard powder.