There was buttermilk after a recent biscuit menu, so scones were inevitable. Thought I’d try something savory this time instead of the usual fruit scones I like. These are pretty rich and practically a meal in themselves, so don’t plan them to accompany a heavy meal. In my kitchen, scones have more butter and less buttermilk per cup of flour than biscuits. I like a lighter, fluffier biscuit and a denser scone. I have no idea what a scone from Scotland is like, but it’s probably not like the ones I make.
I bought some Gorgonzola and Stilton, but the Stilton (my favorite) is so good just for eating, I couldn’t bear to hide it in a scone, so the Gorgonzola went in. Bacon seemed like a no-brainer and chives rounded out the savory flavors. While they were meant to be savory, I think they would be yummy with a fig jam, and I’m thinking of going out looking for some right now.
Blue Cheese Bacon Scones
Preheat oven to 400°; line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried chives
12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) cold butter, diced
4 strips cooked bacon, cut in small dice
1/2-3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1-1.5 cups buttermilk
- Mix together the dry ingredients, including the dried chives.
- Cut the butter into the dry ingredients, using your favorite method. I like to rub the butter in with my fingers, but I’ve read that Martha Stewart will use a food processor. As with biscuits, the resulting bits of butter do not have to be of uniform size; some larger chunks are okay.
- Toss the bacon and crumbled cheese into the flour/butter mixture.
- Stir in 1 cup of the buttermilk until mostly combined. Start with one cup and see if you need more. I did need a little more—you never know how your flour is going to react to moisture based on the variances in temperature and humidity, so you need to be prepared to adjust the ingredients. Just don’t dump it all in at once until you see if you need it. You want the dough to hold together but not be sticky.
- Form the dough into a circle or square or no particular shape on a lightly floured surface to no less than 3/4 inch. Mine were about an inch high. I do use a rolling pin for biscuits, but usually just pat and shape scone dough with my hands. I cut today’s savory scones with a 3″ round cutter, but you could make the traditional triangle shape as well, by forming the dough in an 8-10 inch circle and cutting like a pie. Or you could cut them in squares—too many corners for my taste. For reasons unknown to me, I like a sweet scone in a triangle and a savory scone in the round.
- Bake at 400° for about 15-20 minutes or until they are browned and seem done in the center. The cheese crumbles will melt and I think this has an effect on the baking, so just watch them. Mine had to go about 17 minutes.
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