In my attempt to keep on top of my blogging, I must post about my latest successful baking experiment that took place just this morning! It's my day to bring treats in to the office and it also happens to fall on the birthday of one of my coworkers. My not-so-subtle attempt to determine an appropriate birthday baked good resulted in the suggestion of one of his favorite treats: savory British scones. Lovely! Except, I've never made scones.
After a few forays into my go-to Food Network and Allrecpies.com resources, I ended up just doing a basic Google search that led me to a little blog called Domenica's Dish, where California food blogger Domenica had posted a recipe for Savory Herb & Cheese Scones. It sounded easy enough and didn't involve converting from British methods of measurement. With a few slight adaptations, I ended up with my own version of Herb and Cheese Scones.
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Frigo 3 Cheese Italian (Parmesan, Asiago Fresh, and Romano) blend of cheeses
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 Tablespoon thyme
1/2 Tablespoon rosemary
1 cup buttermilk
Directions:
1.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter. Mix the ingredients well with a fork and then use your hands to start to work it together (you can also use a pastry cutter to cut the butter in).
2.) Add the cheese and all seasonings. Mix again, then add the buttermilk. Stir with a fork until the buttermilk disappears within the dry ingredients, then use your hands to help the dough thoroughly combine and become moist. Add a splash more buttermilk if the dough is still too dry.
3.) Use your hands to mold the dough into golf ball-sized rounds and pat them slightly flat. Place these on a cookie sheet lined with parchment (not wax) paper, about two inches apart from each other. Bake approximately 9-10 minutes.
These taste best warm, but even once they've cooled to room temperature they turned out quite delicious! You can also reheat them in the microwave for a few seconds to recapture that fresh-baked taste!
I'd call it a success when my coworker picked up his third (or was it fourth?) scone of the day a few minutes ago. The treats disappeared faster than usual, and my office break room smelled kind of like gourmet pizza (from the cheese and spices) all afternoon. This recipe's definitely a keeper! I'll have to make scones again!
