Bacon Cheddar Chive Scones (small batch)

My husband loves to bake scones. What can I say? I'm a lucky girl! This is a very delicious savory scone recipe that has been halved from the original recipe (King Arthur Flour). The bacon and cheese make these pretty hardy and we served our with a fruit salad and coffee.  Enjoy!

Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 24 mins
Makes: 4 large or 8 tiny scones

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) All-Purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
2 oz very coarsely grated or diced cheddar cheese
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives or finely diced scallion tops (the green part)
1/4 lb bacon, cooked, cooled and crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
7 tbsp (3.5 ounces) heavy cream or whipping cream or enough to make the dough cohesive

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is unevenly crumbly, with some of the butter remaining in larger pieces.  Mix in the cheese, chives and bacon until evenly distributed. Add cream, stirring to combine. Try squeezing the dough together, if it's crumbly and wont hang together, or if there are crumbs remaining in the bottom of the bowl, add cream until dough comes together. Transfer the shaggy dough to a well-floured work surface.

Pat the dough into a smooth 7'' disk about 3/4'' thick. Transfer the disk to the prepared baking sheet. Use a knife or bench knife to cut the disk into 8 wedges, spreading the wedges apart a bit on the pan. Brush the scones with a bit of cream; this will help their crust brown. Bake the scones for 22-24 minutes until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan. Serve warm, or at a room temperature.

Almond Orange Scones

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20-24 mins

Makes: 12

INGREDIENTS:

2 ¾ cups All-Purpose Flour

1/3 cup sugar

¾ tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

 grated zest from one large orange

½ cup cold butter

1 cup dried currants or other dried fruit

1 cup whole almonds, toasted and chopped

1 oz almond paste

2 large eggs

1 tsp almond extract

¼ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup half & half

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and orange zest.  Work in the butter and almond paste just until the mixture is evenly crumbly.   Stir in the dried fruit and chopped almonds.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and almond extracts, and half & half.  Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until cohesive.

To make scones, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with flour.  Scrape the dough onto the floured parchment and divide it in half.  Round each half into a 6’’x ¾‘’ circle. Slice each circle into 6 wedges.  Pull the wedges apart to separate them by ½’’.  Brush each wedge with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or sparkling white sugar, if desired.

Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Bake the scones for 20-24 minutes, until they’re golden brown.  Remove from the oven, and cool briefly on the pan.  Serve warm.

Buttermilk Scones

Serves: 12 scones  
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes 
 
INGREDIENTS:
 
3 cups of flour
¾ cup firm butter, cut up
¹/³ cup sugar
¾ cup currants or raisins
½ tsp soda
1 t grated orange peel
2½ tsp baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
¾ tsp salt
1 tbsp milk or cream
Cinnamon sugar

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal; stir in currants and orange peel.

Make a well in the center of the mixture; add buttermilk all at once. Stir with fork until dough cleans the sides of the bowl. Gather dough into a ball, and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll or pat into a ½ inch-thick circle. Cut out shapes using a 2½ inch cookie cutter. Brush with cream and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake in oven 425° for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.