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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Why we love this recipe
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 Basic Scones, Strawberry 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!
Taking your favourite sweets or baked goods recipe and turning them into a savoury delight is always so fun too. Try my Cheese Pancakes and see for yourself!
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.
- Flour: I used Self-Rising Flour for this recipe, but you can create your own mix with plain/all-purpose flour and baking powder if needed. See FAQ section below.
- Salt: I only used salt for flavouring but you can absolutely add any spices or dried herbs to the mix as well!
- Butter: Unsalted and very cold
- Cheddar Cheese: finely grated
- Milk: I used Full Cream Milk but a Dairy-Free or Plant-Based option will work fine.
- Spring Onion (Scallion)
Optional: Spices like Mustard Powder, Garlic Powder and an Egg Yolk for Egg Wash
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.
How to make Savory 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.
Tips to make the best ever savoury scones
- make sure to use very 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!
- 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
Recipe FAQs
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.
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
Making them in advance
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.
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 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.
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
- Sweet Potato Bread Buns
Made this recipe? Let us know if you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below! And don't forget to share your creation on Instagram with the hashtag #abakingjourney and tag @a.baking.journey
Recipe
Savoury Cheese Scones
Ingredients
Cheddar Scones
- 250 gr (1 2/3 cup) Self-Rising Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 60 gr (1/4 cup) Unsalted Butter
- 50 gr (1/2 cup) Cheddar Cheese - finely grated
- 1 Spring Onion / Scallion
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) Full Cream Milk
Optional
- 1/2 tsp Mustard Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Egg Yolk - for Egg Wash
Disclaimer
I highly recommend using the measurements in grams & ml (instead of cups & spoons) for more accuracy and better results.
Instructions
- Place the Flour, Salt, Mustard Powder and Garlic Powder (if using them) in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add the Cold Butter sliced into small cubes (1) and cut it in the dry ingredients by hands, with a pastry blender or in your food processor. Cut it in until you should see only small chunks of butter and the flour looks evenly coated in butter.
- Whisk in the finely Grated Cheddar Cheese and thinly chopped Spring Onion.
- Create a well in the centre of the bowl and pour in the Milk. With a spatula (or hands), incorporate the dry ingredients and Milk until the dough starts to come together. Try not to overwork the dough.
- Tranfer over a lightly floured surface (2) and roll the dough into a circle about 2 cm - 3/4 inch thick.
- Using a Round Cookie Cutter (3), cut out the Scones and place them over a flat baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Any leftovers can be re-rolled and cut into more scones, but I highly recommend letting the dough rest in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before re-rolling the dough.
- Preheat your oven on 180'C/350'F and place the scones over the baking tray in the fridge while the oven is preheating.
- Optional: when your oven reaches the desired temperature, whisk the egg yolk into a small bowl and brush it over the top of each scones to give them a golden colour. Sprinkle a little but more grated Cheddar over the Egg Wash.
- Bake for about 20 minutes (4) or until puffed and golden. Transfer oven a cooling rack and leave to cool down before serving.
Notes
- It is important to use cold butter to create a flaky texture. I personally cut my butter into small cubes but you could also grate it in.
- I usually cover my work bench with some baking paper so that the process is less messy
- I used a 7 cm / 2,5 inch Fluted Cookie Cutter to make small scones, but you can use a slightly bigger cookie cutter if you prefer to make larger scones.
- It could take a little bit longer depending on the size of your scones and your oven
