The great thing about cheese scones is that they can make a great savoury meal and are so quick to make you can be eating them, warm from the oven and slathered in butter, just half an hour after you get your mixing bowl out.
It was really hot when I made these and if I had been thinking about it I might have made a chilled soup - but I wasn't thinking about it. But I think these scones would go perfectly with a nice cold summer soup - maybe gazpacho or pea and mint.
You will need:
225g self raising flour
55g butter, cubed
50g mature cheddar or red Leicester (the colour looks great)
pinch of salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp paprika
60ml milk
1 egg
1. Preheat the oven to 220C and lightly grease and flour a baking tray. Mix the flour and the salt, then add the butter and rub in with your fingertips to make a crumbly mixture.
2. Mix in the spices, 25g of the cheese and make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
3. Add most of the beaten egg and milk. Stir together until the mixture comes together into a dough.
4. Roll the dough out to 2cm thick and use a 2 inch cutter with a crimped edge to stamp out as many scones as possible. Knead the offcuts together and repeat until all the dough is used up.
5. Brush the tops of the scones with the reserved egg and milk and dust with flour, then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the scones.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden.
6. Split and eat with butter and soup!
This is an easy, straightforward bake, even for a hot day. Rather than serving with soup, you could serve these scones with cream cheese and chopped chives, or just butter them.
Happy baking!
Ellie
xxx
