Savoury Cheese Scones with Cheddar

These light and fluffy Cheese Scones with Cheddar Cheese and Spring Onions make the most delicious savoury afternoon tea baked goods. They will also be great for breakfast, the lunchbox, snack or even as an appetiser!

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Scones are probably one of the easiest baked goods to make from scratch. They do not require any fancy equipment or lengthly steps and can be easily customised to your liking!

Just like my Strawberry and Coconut Scones or my Chocolate Chip Scones, these savoury ones were made, rolled, shaped and ready to go in the oven in less than 20 minutes.

I also love these Vegetarian Savoury Scones with Cheese and Spring Onions because they can be enjoyed in so many different ways. Breakfast, snack, afternoon tea, kids lunchbox, appetiser,... They are just so versatile!

Ingredients

This recipe is made with a few basic ingredients only, but many other can be added to customise them to your liking as well.

To make these Cheese and Herbs Scones, you will need
(scroll down to recipe card for all quantities):

• Self-Rising Flour
• Salt
• Cold Unsalted Butter
• Grated Cheddar Cheese
• Full Cream Milk
• Spring Onion (Scallion)

Optional:

• Mustard Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Egg Yolk for Egg Wash

I added a few spices to the scones, but they are completely optional. You can also add any of your favourite spices to them instead, such as Cumin, Paprika, Chilli Flakes, Dried Herbs,...

Ingredient Substitution

• Self Rising Flour: you can use a mix of Plain / All-Purpose Flour and Baking Powder instead. See below for homemade self-rising flour ratios.

• Cheddar Cheese: I personally love the strong taste of Cheddar Cheese, but you could use any hard cheese you want - as long as it can be grated. You could for example use Gruyère Cheese instead.

• Spring Onion / Scallion: can be replaced with Chives for example - or a small quantity of very finely chopped Onion or Shallots for example. It can also be discarded completely if you prefer to make plain cheese scones.

Homemade Self-Rising Flour

If you do not have Self-Rising Flour, it is actually very easy to make at home with a ratio of these 3 basic ingredients (if making your own mix for this recipe, this formula will need to be doubled):

• Plain Flour - 1 cup / 150 gr
• Baking Powder - 1 1/2 tsp / 6 gr
• Salt - a pinch

You can double or triple this formula to suit the quantity required in the recipe you are following, and keep any leftover in an air-tight container or jar.

How to make Savory Cheddar Scones

Making these Mini Cheese Scones is actually fairly easy and straight forward. It is split in two larger steps: prepare the dough, then shape it as scones to bake them.

Making the Dough

• First, place all of your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl: Plain Flour and Salt, as well as any dry Spice powders (Mustard and Garlic powder here). Whisk it together to evenly combine.

• Add the cold Butter sliced into small cubes (some people like to grate the butter instead) and cut it into the flour. You can do that either by hands, with a Pastry Blender or even in your food processor. If doing it by hands, simply rub the cold butter and flour between your hands until you cannot see large lumps of butter anymore and all the flour is coated with small chunks of butter.

• Add the Grated Cheddar Cheese and thinly chopped Spring Onion / Scallion. Quickly mix with a whisk to combine.

• Make a well in the centre of the preparation and pour the Milk in. Using a spatula and/or your hands, work the milk with the dry ingredients until a dough comes together and you cannot see dry flour anymore.

It is important not to overwork the dough at this point or the texture of the savory scones will be tough and hard. The dough might look not very homogeneous right now but it will come together when you roll it.

Shaping the Scones

The second part of the recipe is shaping the baked goods. There are many ways to shape scones - often in a triangular shape or a round shape. For this recipe, I rolled the dough and used a round fluted cookie cutter to shape the scones.

• Place the dough over a lightly floured surface (or a large sheet of baking paper for a less messy kitchen like I did here). Bring it together into a ball and gently flatten it with your hands.

• With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a flat disk about 2 cm (3/4 inch) thick. You might need to add a little bit of flour over the dough if it sticks to the rolling pin, or simply cover it with baking paper before rolling it.

• Using a cookie cutter (either round or fluted), cut the scones. I use a 7cm / 2,5 inch Cookie Cutter to make small scones (will make about 9 small scones) or use a slightly large one for larger scones.

• Any leftover dough can be re-rolled to make more scones, but it is highly recommended to let them rest in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before doing so.

• Place the shaped scones over a large flat baking tray lined with baking paper.

• Optional: whisk an Egg Yolk in a small bowl (you can add a splash of milk to make it lighter if preferred) and brush it over the top of each scones to give it a golden colour.

• Optional: sprinkle a little bit of grated Cheddar Cheese over each scones for a grilled cheese finish.

• Preheat your oven on 180'C/350'F and place the tray with scones in the fridge while the oven is preheating.

• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes (might be more or less depending on your oven) or until puffed and golden.

What to eat with cheese scones

There are many things you can serve your scones with, but I usually go for a simple spread of Butter, a pinch of Sea Salt and some freshly chopped Spring Onions.

You could also serve them with a spreadable cheese like Cream Cheese, or your favourite savoury dip. It will be delicious with some freshly made Pesto sauce for example!

Storing & Freezing Scones

How to store baked scones?

They can be kept at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 2 days. They are best eaten fresh and will tend to become hard quickly if kept in the fridge.

Can they be made ahead?

They can be made ahead, but are definitely better when eaten fresh. You can actually prepare them up to 24 hours in advance and store them in the fridge over a flat baking tray until ready to be baked.

Note that the egg wash/grated cheese topping should only be added before baking them if storing the scones raw in the fridge.

Can I freeze them?

Yes, they can absolutely be frozen - either baked or unbaked. For the freshest result, I highly recommend freezing them unbaked (without the egg wash / cheese finish), but they can be frozen after being baked as well if preferred.

• Un-baked: place them in the freezer over a flat tray lined with baking paper until fully frozen, then transfer them into a freezer friendly container or freezing bag. Make sure they are not touching or separate them with baking paper so that they do not stick to each other. Bake them frozen and add an extra 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.

• Baked: let them cool down completely before freezing them in a freezer friendly container or freezing bag. They should be kept separate from each other with baking paper, foil or wrap. To thaw, either leave them to defrost in the fridge overnight or place in the oven for 5 minutes.

Tips to make the best ever savoury scones

• use Cold Butter for a flaky texture. You can also leave the scones to rest in the fridge for a little while before baking them for an extra-flaky texture!

• Add your favourite Spices or Herbs to make this recipe your own. I added some Garlic Powder and Mustard Powder, but feel free to add any spices you want! You can also add herbs like Chives for a slightly different taste.

• don't overwork the dough or the crumb will be hard and tough. The more you work the dough, the more gluten develops which creates an elastic, tough dough. If you think you have worked the dough too much, simply leave it to rest for 10 to 15 minutes to allow for the gluten to relax again.

• Leave leftover dough to rest in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before re-rolling it. This will insure the scones don't shrink or pull in when you bake them.

• Try not to add too much Flour when rolling them. They should be slightly wet and sticky to the touch. (Though if very sticky, wet and hard to roll, you can add a little bit of flour).

• Brush the scones with an Egg Yolk ("Egg Wash") to give them a beautiful golden colour

• Drizzle a little bit of finely grated cheese over the scones before baking them for an added grilled cheese flavour.

• They are best served fresh and just out of the oven. If made in advance, store them un-baked in the fridge for up to 24 hours and bake them just before serving them.

More Small Savoury Bakes:

• Spinach and Ricotta Rolls
• Zucchini Muffins with Goat's Cheese
• Cheddar and Spinach Muffins
• Cheese Gougères (Cheese Puffs)
• Savoury Dried Tomato Madeleines