Cheese & Herb Scones

I'm of two minds about scones. If I make them or buy one from an independent bakery, they're amazing and delicious and tender and buttery. If I purchase them at a coffee shop or a chain grocery store, more often than not they're dry and crumbly and not that tasty. Drizzling glaze over them only makes them hyper-sweet and sometimes hard as cement; the glaze ends up glueing together chunks of flavorless crumbs. Ick.

I started making scones about the time I started high school. Someone gave me a little cookbook of scone recipes, both sweet and savory, and I immediately fixated on one particular recipe. It called for finely chopped walnuts in the dough and then before baking, you cut a slit in the top and slid in a teaspoon of strawberry jam which bubbled up in the oven and glazed the top. My dad loved them so I never varied that recipe. I've made other kinds of scones since then; lemon blueberry (pictured below), almond cherry, currant, and white chocolate craisin. 

My first savory scone was from a bakery in Leavenworth, Washington (which is a Bavarian themed village in the Cascades and not the penitentiary in Kansas). It was chock full of cheddar cheese, bacon, and scallions in a tender, buttery dough and I could've eaten a few more of them and skipped lunch altogether. This particular recipe focuses on fresh herbs and cheese rather than bacon and scallions, but they're just as delicious!

My first attempts at replicating savory scones weren't great. I mean, they were edible and had bacon in them, but they weren't very tender and flaky. There are a few ways to make tender and flaky baked goods; use real fat (butter and/or lard), handle as little as possible, and increase the amount of protein and fat by adding eggs and/or some kind of dairy. Don't freak out on me here. The fats and proteins are what make baked goods tender (not dry) and flaky (a desired result in pastries and pie crusts). If you're looking for a low-fat option for scones, you won't find it here.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick butter, cut into small pieces and frozen (leave in freezer until needed)

1 cup grated or shredded Cheddar cheese or other cheese of your choice

1/2 cup fresh herbs of your choice, finely chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. You can also use a sheet of foil, lightly greased, to line the baking sheet.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and sour cream together and set aside til needed.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Use a fork or a whisk to combine. Add the frozen butter pieces and use a pastry cutter to work into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand. Add the cheese and herbs and toss gently to coat with the butter and flour mixture. Use a fork to stir in the egg and sour cream mixture until just combined. Using your hands, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into two equal balls. Pat each one flat into a disk and use a sharp knife to cut into wedges.

Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. If you like, brush the tops with melted butter or a beaten egg. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for a couple minutes and then transfer the scones to a wire cooling rack.

Cook's Notes:

1. Let's start with the herbs. The creator of the original recipe wanted a recipe that used up a lot of her herbs from her garden. A half cup may seem excessive, especially if you're not accustomed to using fresh herbs in your recipes, but fresh herbs don't have the same punch of flavor as dried herbs. Once dried, the aromatic oils in herbs are concentrated which is perfect for adding to dishes which need to cook for a long time. Fresh herbs are best for adding as a garnish to a completed dish, to salads of all kinds, or to quick breads and scones which don't spend a lot of time in the heat. If you're fortunate enough to have an herb garden or you know someone who grows herbs, you can mix'n'match: thyme, dill, rosemary, parsley, tarragon, oregano, basil, mint, cilantro, savory, etcetera and so on. Rinse the herbs, pat dry with paper towels, and use a very sharp knife to finely chop.
2. I prefer to use sharp Cheddar in baked goods as the flavor stands up better than medium or mild Cheddar. Like the herbs, the choice of cheese is up to you. Try Gruyere and mozzarella with oregano, basil, thyme, and a little mint for an Italian flavor. Use a blend of pepper jack and white Cheddar with cilantro, parsley, and oregano for a hint of the Southwest. 
3. Butter, people, real butter. It can't be beat. And even though a lot of recipes call for unsalted butter so that the baker can adjust the amount of salt to their preference, I always use salted butter because it adds another layer of flavor. Plus, salted butter's often less expensive than unsalted. 
4. I generally buy store brands products unless name brand are on sale and comparable. I make a few exceptions for items such as Best Foods mayo and Daisy sour cream. I'm not sponsored by these brands nor do I get reimbursement or freebies from them; they're just tried'n'true brands. I really like Daisy sour cream because it only has one ingredients: Grade A cultured cream. There are no stabilizers, no additives, and no preservatives. I like the fresh tangy flavor and the only drawback (if you can even call it that) is that the sour cream "weeps". I either stir the liquid back into the sour cream or drain it off into the sink.
5. I've pretty sure we've discussed pastry cutters before and if you don't have one, get one. They're not expensive and they're much more effective and efficient than using a couple of forks or knives to try to cut hard chunks of butter in to the flour mix.
6. Let me leave you with two very important pieces of advice: first, keep the fats (butter, sour cream, egg) as cold as you can. The cold fats between layers of flour is what creates the flakiness in the finished product. As they heat up in the oven, the waters boil and create steam which puffs up the dough. Second, work the dough as little as possible so you don't create gluten which gives baked products like bread their chewiness.

These cheese and herb scones are great with soups and salad or as an alternative to rolls alongside a pot roast or grilled salmon. Don't be intimidated by all my instructions; it just sounds difficult! And I rather give you more info than not enough.