Homemade Cheese Scones
Izzy has a cold.
It’s the worst cold a person ever had.
It’s definitely worse than man flu.
And when Izzy isn’t well, she needs comfort food!
Comfort food in our house tends to revolve around the foods that Nanny Flo would give us when it was cold and wet or we were poorly or life wasn’t going quite right. They’re never complicated but they do always hit the spot. The staples are Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup served with a cheese sandwich made with toast (but not a toasted cheese sandwich – the cheese mustn’t be melted); thick white bread, ham, pickled beetroot and cheese and onion crisp sandwiches; cheese on beans on ham on toast; hot sausage rolls with silverskin pickled onions and Branston pickle or last but not least, warm cheese scones with a thick layer of butter.
Today’s request was for cheese scones.
We’re staying at my parents’ place for a few weeks and it would be fair to say that the cooking gene skipped a generation – my mum hates cooking and her kitchen reflects that. When I come here to stay, I inevitably turn up with a bag full of silly bits of ingredients I know she won’t have – things like vanilla essence and honey and baking powder. I didn’t think to bring pastry cutters. So these are a little rough and ready – or as TV chefs seem to like to label – rustic!
These scones owe a little to Sue Santer, a friend who makes the best cheese straws I’ve ever had. When asked what the secret to her lovely offerings were, she told me she used half a tub of cheese sauce in them. Well, she did say a tub. So I presumed she meant the pre-made stuff. She didn’t. She meant the Bisto tubs of granules. I didn’t find that out until after I’d given the recipe a go. Let’s just say, I wasn’t ever going to be able to roll out that dough!
Much hilarity ensued!
Notwithstanding my manifest error, the little patties I did manage to turn out were delicious but its the real recipe that gave me an idea for the next time I made cheese scones.
Excuse the misshapen monsters I call scones – they were made by rolling the dough into balls and then squashing them into discs. Also, purists will say there should be cream of tartar in scones – I just don’t like the taste of it…….it makes them taste kind of chalky to me, so self-raising flour and a little baking powder is my preference.
I have to thank Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, for her tip on egg wash – add a few teaspoons of water to your egg when you beat it and it becomes far easier to paint it on your pastry! Actually, this is also a part of my waste not want not thing – I divide the mixture in two at that point as well and then freeze one half so that I always have a little egg wash when I need it and don’t have the eggs to spare!
Ingredients:
300g self-raising flour
50g melted butter
2 eggs, beaten +egg wash
30ml milk
3 heaped tablespoons Bisto cheese granules
75g grated cheddar + a little for topping (I used mature)
1 heaped tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
Method:
1. Sieve together the flour, baking powder and cayenne pepper, into a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix together the beaten egg, melted butter and milk.
3. Stir through with the flour, the cheese sauce granules and cheddar.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir together until you have a soft dough.
5. Pat the dough into a 1/2 inch thick disk and divide into 12. Roll each twelfth of dough into a little ball and then flatten into a small disc.
6. Brush on the egg wash then sprinkle over a little more cheese.
7. Place all the discs (there should be about 12) onto a baking tray and cook in a pre-heated 200C oven for 15 minutes.
