Challenge Fifty-Two, a white woman with dark hair tied back. She is leaning towards the camera, with a plate full of delicious looking freshly made cheese scones

First Time Making Cheese Scones

29th December 2024 - New Experience Number 40.

I realise that I’m very late to the party, and quite a late age for my first time making cheese scones.

Many of you reading this will have had a go at creating these scrumptious savoury snacks at some point in your life. If you haven’t, I can highly recommend giving them a go as they are so much quicker and easier to make than I’d expected. 

I am an absolute fiend for a cheese scone, and was actually quite surprised when I realised I had never tried making them before. This was an absolute joy to have a go at as one of my 52 new things.

Sweet Over Savoury

When there’s a choice of sweet or savoury, I’m usually in the latter camp. One of my absolute favourite tea time treats (although they work perfectly well at any time of the day), is a cheese scone.

Whilst plain and fruit varieties are not to be overlooked, the cheese scone is the pinnacle of scones for me. Especially when the round, breaded cake like snack is warm and smothered with butter.

Finding A Recipe - First Time Making Cheese Scones

The trusty BBC Food site had a very easy recipe which I glanced over. With just 5 ingredients and 4 steps this looked perfect for making what I hoped would be lip smackingly tasty little treats.

Ingredients

I already had the ingredients in, so didn’t have to buy anything specifically.

All I needed was;

  • self-raising flour,
  • butter,
  • cheddar,
  • milk,
  • and a pinch of salt.

I added in a pinch of cayenne pepper too, just to give it a little extra kick.

Ingredients for the first time making cheese scones, consisting of cheese, butter, milk, salt, self raising flour.
Just a few ingredients to make the savoury treats.

First Time Making Cheese Scones - The Make

With just 4 steps, these were very easy to make.

  1. Firstly was mixing the salt in with the flour.
  2. Next was rubbing in the butter. I have cold hands, and for once this seemed to be a help rather than a hindrance. The butter and flour combined to make a thin crumby consistency.
  3. I stirred in the grated cheese.
  4. Finally, I added the milk so that the mixture became a light dough.
Looking into a mixing bowl, at a crumb like consistency of flour rubbed together with butter
Rubbing the flour and butter to make the crumb like consistency
Looking into a mixing bowl containing rubbed flour and butter, and grated cheese.
Mixing in the grated cheese.

Tipping the dough onto a chopping board I’d dusted with flour, I lightly kneaded it until it was all nicely combined, and then rolled it out so that it was around 2cm thick.

first time making cheese scones, dough on a board ready for kneading
The dough was ready for kneading.
Dough for making cheese scones, rolled out onto a chopping board.
Roll the dough out to around 2cm thickness

I didn’t have a cutter or a stamp specifically for the job of cutting out the individual scones, so instead I used a glass which was roughly 5cm in diameter and it did the trick.

Rolled out dough, with an upturned glass on it which is being used as a cutter
I didn't have a cutter so improvised with a glass.

Once I’d cut out the first circles, I combined the left over dough and rolled it out to cut more scones, and repeated the process until it was all used up.

The oven had reached temperature, so I put the scones onto the baking paper on the baking tray, and brushed the tops of them with a little milk. Then I put them in for baking.

First time making cheese scones, the individual scones are laid out on a baking tray ready for cooking.
Cut and ready for baking.
Looking into an oven, where a tray of cheese scones are baking
Into the oven they go!

Baking Goodness

The smell as they were cooking was divine. Just 15 minutes later, I peered through the oven door to see the risen golden delights.

It was so tempting to tuck straight into one, but I followed the instructions and put them onto a wire rack to slightly cook.

A baking tray of freshly made delicious looking golden cheese scones.
It was tough leaving them to cool and not tucking straight in!

Taste Test - First Time Making Cheese Scones

We didn’t leave them to cool for too long as we wanted to sample them whilst they were warm. Cutting one in half, it looked as good on the inside as it did on the outside. I slathered on a good spread of butter which instantly began to melt, and served it with some chutney.

I took a bite. It was exactly as I had hoped. Deliciously salty with a slight tanginess from the cheddar.  The Other Half gave them a big thumbs up too. The batch did not last very long!

A freshly made cheese scone, sliced in half and smothered with melting butter. A small pot of chutney is also on the plate.
Delicious smothered with butter, and served with a small pot of chutney.

Will I be making cheese scones again?

One hundred percent I will!

I hadn’t anticipated just how easy they would be to make, or how little time they took.

Having successfully made a first batch, I’m certainly keen to try some different savoury flavour combinations and get a little bit experimental with the ingredients!

Why You Should Try Making Cheese Scones

If you’ve never made them before, I can highly recommend having a go.

If you’re not particularly confident in the kitchen, these are a great idea to try as they have very few ingredients, and very few steps to follow.

It is a really simple process, doesn’t need any out of the ordinary ingredients, and they are quick to make.

It’s a brilliant recipe if you have children and want to get them involved in baking. 

Once you’ve made a basic cheese scone successfully, why not get creative and try adding in some additional ingredients.

A baking tray of delicious looking golden cheese scones fresh out of the oven.
Quick and easy, it's well worth having a go at making cheese scones if you've never made them before.

Want To Try It Yourself?

  • There are hundreds of recipes for making cheese scones.
  • To follow the exact same recipe that I used, take a look at BBC Food.
  • Find a few recipes, and follow the one that looks like the easiest for you to follow.

Cost Of Experience

  • I already had the ingredients I needed to make cheese scones. 
  • If I had needed to buy everything from scratch, it would have cost around £7. There would have been plenty of ingredients left for other bakes too. 

Recommendations

  • Weigh everything first. I always find it much easier to follow a recipe if I’ve weighed and measured all of the ingredients, before I begin mixing it all together.
  • Pop on a pinny. If you’ve got an apron, it’s worth wearing it to protect your clothes from any dusting of flour or accidental hand wipes.
  • Get inventive. Once you’ve mastered the basic cheese scone, why not get experimental with the ingredients? I’ve found some recipes I want to try next including, ham and cheese, leek and cheese. This cheese and chive recipe matches the scones with a delectable sounding pear and honey combination. 
  • Good luck. Let me know how you get on if you give them a try!

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