Easy Peasy Cheesy Scones

It's probably pretty obvious that I'm more of a sweet person than a savoury but sometimes you can't beat good old fashioned savoury baked goods. It's been a rainy miserable day here in England, living up to our reputation and on days like this, you can't help but crave warm, home-cooked comfort food. And this classic cheese scone recipe fit the bill.

So this isn't the healthiest lunch option but these freshly baked warm cheesy scones are extremely moreish and delicious. And even better, you can whip up a batch of these scrummy scones in half an hour. 

Cheddar cheese scones, makes about 6 good-sized scones

Ingredients:
125g cheddar cheese, grated
50g salted butter, cubed
2tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt and black pepper
A pinch of paprika (optional but adds extra flavour)
225g plain flour
140ml semi-skimmed milk

1. Preheat the oven to 220c and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Place the baking tray into the oven.
2. Place the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and paprika into a large mixing bowl and mix well.
3. Add the butter to the mixing bowl and mix together until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.
4. Add the cheese and stir until combined.
5. Using a round tipped knife, stir the mixture while adding the milk. You don't want to overwork the dough so only mix until it comes into a rough ball of dough.
6. Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and pat down until it's about an inch thick. Use your hands to pat down rather than a rolling pin.
7. Using a cutter (use any size you wish, I used a 2 inch cutter), cut out the scones by pressing firmly down. Don't twist the cutter or you'll seal the sides and it won't rise evenly.
8. Bring together any remaining dough and cut out more scones until you've used it all but try not to work the dough too much.
9. Place the scones onto the baking tray and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.
10. Once baked, place onto a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes and then serve while warm.

They taste lovely fresh out the oven but they'll last for a day or two, if you can't finish them all. The best part is when you cut them open and you can see the lovely melted cheese scattered inside...extremely hard to resist.

   
I like them with a liberal helping of butter but add anything you like. I suggest branstons picke, chutney or piccalilli. Perfect comfort food for a raing Sunday lunchtime. Enjoy!