Top of the Morning Scones

I’m a big fan of savory breakfast. Sure I like waffles and pancakes and other sweet deliciousness, but I think I love bacon and cheese a little more. A couple weeks ago, a group of my girlfriends and I had an old fashioned sleepover. (Probably not the same kind of sleepover of our childhood, it did include multiple bottles of wine, vodka, and drinking games, but the general idea behind it was the same.) I was in charge of bring breakfast for the group. I racked my brain on something to make that was easy, quick, and delicious. I picked up a Pillsbury break and bake cinnamon roll thing, taking care of the sweet aspect of breakfast. (Which I remembered it tasting way better as a child than it did that morning, but that’s neither here nor there.) I also wanted something savory, but that I could make ahead of time and be good. One of my favorite coffee shops in my neighborhood has these delicious applewood bacon and cheddar scones. Since I knew I wouldn’t be able to replicate the same taste on the first try and I was working with a non-meat eater, those were out. So I searched some recipes sites and found a great compromise on Epicurious: Cheddar and chive scones. Savory, hearty, flaky, and just the right amount of non-sweetness to go perfectly with Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. They’re also great for dipping in runny eggs with a little bacon on the side.

Cheddar Chive Scones (from Epicurious via Gourmet, July 2000)
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives (I would probably use ¼ cup)
5 oz extra-sharp Cheddar, coarsely grated (1 1/2 cups)
2 cups heavy cream plus additional for brushing

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add chives and Cheddar, tossing to combine. Stir in cream with a fork until a sticky dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 8 times with floured hands. It is a VERY sticky dough! So make sure your floured surfaces and really floured. Halve dough and form each half into a 7-inch round. Brush tops of rounds with additional cream and cut each into 8 wedges. (I cut mine into 6 wedges, because it was so sticky it was easier to handle in bigger pieces.)

Arrange wedges about 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased large baking sheet and bake in middle of oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool on a rack.

The one thing I would change is less chives in the batter. I got a little chive crazy. I would probably recommend ¼ cup of chives because they were a tad bit overpowering. I also used the prepackaged grated cheese from the grocery store. Instead of coarsely grated I used the fancy grated – I’m pretty sure it came out very similarly, but probably a little more delicate in the cheese department. This could explain why my chives may have been a little much, or that might just be my taste buds.

These scones were great, and I’ll definitely make them again, however, if you’re looking for a traditional scone you’re probably going to want to look elsewhere. These were really light and flaky/buttery, not as dense or heavy as a traditional scone. I believe they turned out to be more like a cross between a biscuit and a scone and they were delicious!