I was in the beautiful Barossa Valley recently for a bit of R & R and had a chance to visit Maggie Beer’s Farm where I tried her gorgeous Cheese and Chive Scones. Now when people think of scones, they think of the sweet variety and I have nothing against that( I love them too), but savoury ones just like Sweet Potato Scones are just as delicious. I’m back home now to reality, and I thought I would recreate the scones after all I can’t pop back there every time I want to. I bought a signed cookbook, however the scone recipe wasn’t there, so the following recipe is not THE Maggie Beer but I believe it’s pretty close to it!
So here we are, tender flaky and cheesy studded here and there with fragrant chives. Straight off the oven, and slathered with butter, there’s nothing better. If you don’t have/like chives, you can substitute them with any herb of your choice and it will still be delicious.
We had a lovely time at Maggie Beer’s, I even pretended to be a celeb chef in her iconic kitchen. Unfortunately my choice of outfit for the day was the colour of mango, an exact match of her kitchen cabinets so I sort of blended in. Also, I may have over spent on stuff of this and that, hard not to with all the goodies in the shop. While you’re here, drop me a line via the message line below, I would love to hear from you.
What you need to make this Cheese and Chive Scones
- Pantry/Fridge – Self Raising Flour,cold butter, bit of sugar, chilli powder if you like a bit of zing,cream or sour cream and eggs
- Cheese- I use cheddar or a combination of cheeses. If you have odd and ends of cheeses lying around, they are perfect for this. Reserve a handful for topping.
- Chives- Chopped chives or any other chopped herbs you fancy.
Easy does it…
- Combine the dry ingredients of flour, sugar, grated cold butter and chilli powder if using, toss gently with your fingers. Cold butter, gets trapped within forming the flaky layers.
- Whisk together cream and eggs and add this to the dry ingredients mix above. Form into a shaggy wet dough. Do not over mix. Tip into a floured counter and shape into rectangle. Use a floured cutter to cut scones, or cut into triangles if you don’t have a cutter. Place scones side by side, just touching in other in the prepared tray. Brush the tops with milk and place bit of grated cheese in each top. Bake in a preheated oven until golden and cooked through.
- Serve with chutney or Vegemite and lots of butter.
Cheese and Chive Scones
10
servings15
minutes20
minutesTender flaky and cheesey Scones
Ingredients
2 cups Self Raising Flour
85g cold Butter,grated
1 teaspoon Chilli Powder or Cayenne Pepper,optional
1 teaspoon Sugar
2 Eggs
1 cup grated Cheddar Cheese,reserve a handful for topping
1/3 cup Cream or Sour Cream
4 tablespoons chopped Chives
Milk for glazing
Directions
- Preheat oven to 200°C fan forced. Spay baking pan with cooking oil spray.
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour,sugar,chilli powder and grated butter using your fingers to make a crumbly mix. Add grated cheese (reserve a handful for topping)and chopped chives and mix it in gently.
- Whisk together eggs and cream or sour cream, then add this to the flour mixture. Stir together until just combined. The mixture will be sticky. Do not over mix.
- Tip the dough into a clean and floured surface. Pat the dough into a rectangle about 2.5-3 cm thick. Dip scone cutter into flour, then use to cut the scones. Press the off cuts together and cut more scones. Place scones in the prepared baking tray, slightly touching each other.
- Brush tops of scones with milk and sprinkle with reserved grated cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
- Serve warm with butter.
Notes
- Best served on the day. Store covered in room temperature for a few days and warm up in a microwave.
