Bacon-Cheddar-Chive Scones

When I saw this recipe for Bacon-Cheddar-Chive Scones, I knew they were in my near future. I had never had a savory scone before, but with bacon and cheese as ingredients, I knew these just had to be tasty. And are they ever good! These savory scones would be a delicious addition to Easter brunch and they are also really good served with soup or salad. The first time I halved the recipe and used half and half instead of cream, because that's what I had on hand. But the scones are more tender when made with heavy cream like the recipe calls for. I also added some coarse ground pepper, but I didn't think it added anything to the taste. If you are worried about calories, make mini scones. With smokey bacon, oozing cheese and the oniony chives, these scones are irresistable.

Scones are easy to make, just don't overwork the dough. Stir up the ingredients, then pat the dough into an even circle, and cut into wedges. If you want to make mini scones, divide the dough in half and then cut into wedges.

These scones bake quickly! I almost left mine in the oven too long and you can see how golden they got. They were done in less time than the recipe stated. These Bacon-Cheddar-Chive Scones taste amazing, so I hope you'll give them a try!

BACON-CHEDDAR-CHIVE SCONES

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt- recipe calls for 1 teaspoon

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

4 tablespoons cold butter

1 cup coarsely grated  or diced cheddar cheese

1/3 cup snipped fresh chives -can use diced scallion tops

1/2 pound cooked bacon, crumbled - about 1 cup

3/4 cups heavy cream, plus 2 tablespoons more if needed

about 1/8 teaspoon coarse ground pepper- not really needed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment, or grease it.

1. Whisk together flour,salt, baking powder, and sugar.

2. Use a pastry cutter, work the butter into the dry ingredients until unevenly crumbly

3. Mix the bacon, cheese and chives in with the flour mixture.

4. Add 3/4 cup of the heavy cream, stirring to combine. Try squeezing the dough together; if it is too crumbly and there are many crumbs in the bottom of the bowl, add the extra 1 or 2 tablespoons of cream until the dough comes together. Transfer the sticky dough to a floured work surface.

5. Pat the dough into about a 7 inch disk about 3/4 inch thick. Place dough on prepared baking sheet.

6. Use a knife to cut the disk of dough into 8 wedges. Spread the wedges apart on the pan.

7. Brush each scone with some cream. This will help them to brown.

8. Bake the scones for 22-24 minutes until golden brown. Mine were done in 19 minutes, so watch carefully! Mini scones will bake in 15-20 minutes. Remove scones from oven. Serve them warm, if possible, but room temperature is fine also.

TIPS:

These scones can be made several hours ahead of time, or even the night before, and then baked right before serving. To do this, get them ready for baking, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place baking pan with scones in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight. The next morning, remove plastic wrap and place scones in preheated oven and bake per directions. Enjoy!

Unbaked scones can also be frozen. Place scones on baking sheet, and freeze them. Remove frozen scones and wrap artight in freezer bags and place in freezer. When ready to bake, place scones on a baking sheet, brush with cream and bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 35-40 minute. Watch carefully.



Blueberry Scones with Orange Glaze

With blueberry season here I thought I'd share this delicious scone recipe from the archives. The first time I made these scones, I didn't care at all for the runny sauce with the recipe, so I've reduced the amounts and made a simple glaze that is much better. These Blueberry Scones are wonderful; crisp and golden on the outside and soft and tender inside with fresh blueberries in every bite. They have become a favorite on mine, so I hope you'll give them a try.

Blueberry Scones with Orange Glaze
adapted from Tyler Florence

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into cubes
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup fresh blueberries

Orange Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tablespoon very soft butter
enough orange juice to make glaze

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Stir together the dry  ingredients in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in the cold butter into the dry ingredients until it looks like coarse crumbs. Carefully stir in the blueberries, and then the heavy cream. Be careful to not mash the blueberries.
Press the dough into an 8 inch circle; cut dough into 8-10 slices, like you would a pie. Carefully place slices on a baking sheet. Brush tops with some heavy cream. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the scones cool a bit before applying the glaze.
For glaze: Mix the powdered sugar, butter and about 1 tablespoon of orange juice until smooth. Add more orange juice if needed, to get the consistency you like. Drizzle glaze over the scones after they have cooled a bit. Enjoy!

Blueberry Scones with Orange Glaze- Slightly Adapted from Tyler Florence

My daughter has been wanting me to make blueberry scones for awhile, so I found a great sounding recipe from Tyler Florence at Food Network. The reviews were basically good; some thought the dough too crumbly. Some thought it too wet. Some thought it was perfect, so I chose to believe them! These scones are very light, with a tender crumb, and they melt in your mouth! The butter and cream ensure a wonderful flavor along with the blueberries. The glaze is supposed to be lemon, but my daughter doesn't care for lemon and blueberry, so thus the change to orange! The flavor of the orange with the blueberry was amazing! On some of the scones, I had sprinkled coarse sugar before baking, so they had a bit of a crunch, which we like. On the other half, I used the glaze, which has a wonderful flavor! I had made only half of the glaze and it was waaay too much! I drizzled on the glaze after the scones had cooled for a few minutes. The glaze is wet, which left the scones wet, in my opinion. If you can eat all of the scones in one sitting, it's no problem, but if you're going to have to save some for the next day, I'd advise serving the glaze in a small pitcher for individual use. This glaze is runny and even in the fridge it didn't thicken much. You can see the glazed scones in the picture below. The next morning they were softer than I like, but we ate them anyway. I'm not one to waste food, unless it's just gross, that is! My daughter much preferred the scones with the dusting of the coarse sugar. After saying all that, I will definitely make these again! They have great texture and flavor and I'll serve the glaze on the side.

BLUEBERRY SCONES with ORANGE GLAZE

Scone ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. sugar

5 Tbs. unsalted cold butter, cut into chunks

1 cup heavy cream

1cup fresh blueberries

GLAZE ingredients: (I only made half of this and it was more than enough)

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

2 cups powdered sugar

zest of orange, I didn't use the zest

1 Tbs. butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Make a well in center of flour and add the cream. Fold everything together gently and add the blueberries and fold in. Do not overwork the dough. I found it hard to fold in the berries, so I used my hands to fold them in gently and just pushed the dough into a ball. On a floured surface, place the ball of dough and press into a circle that is about 1 inch thick and about 6-8 inches in diameter. Cut into 8 wedges and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush tops with a little cream. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden. If using the glaze, let scones cool a bit before applying glaze.

To make the glaze, you can make it in a double boiler, or a microwave for 30 seconds on high. Mix juice and sugar together; add zest and butter and stir until smooth. Let it set a minute before serving. Enjoy!

In the above pic, the scones with the coarse sugar are on the left, the glazed on the right. Both tasted delicious and I've added this recipe to my list of keepers! It's hard to eat just one!

Have a great day, my friends.

Chocolate Chip Scones

"Mom, why are you taking so many pictures of the scones?" This was asked by my 21 year old daughter recently as she watched me arrange these scones for pictures. "Because I want them to look as wonderful in pictures as they taste," I replied. Most of my pictures were really boring looking, not at all enticing a reader to go out and make these delicious scones. I admire all of you talented food bloggers who take such luscious looking photos of meals you have made. I have a ways to go! But back to these amazing scones. I have not had traditional scones before, so I wouldn't be able to compare these Chocolate Chip Scones with them. These are crisp on the outside and tender and slightly sweet inside with with bursts of chocolate and a slight tang oflemon, if you use the lemon, that is. My family prefers the scones without the lemon peel, and frankly they are just as good without it. I love this recipe because if you want to, you can prepare these the night before, and bake them the next morning! How convenient is that! The dough can

be rather sticky, so sometime I refrigerate it after mixing to make it easier to handle and to cut into wedges. I like neat looking wedges after all! After mixing the dough, you pull and pat it together into a ball and lay it on a floured surface. Pat it into an 8 inch circle and then cut into 8 wedges. The recipe said 6 wedges, but I thought that was too much. You could make them smaller, if desired. Taking a pie server, transfer them to a baking sheet and place in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Or, you may cover unbaked scones with plastic wrap and stick the pan in the fridge until morning. Just be sure to preheat the oven well. You'll be greeted with a treat! How about hot scones for breakfast with coffee or tea, or in the middle of the afternoon for a pick-me-up. This recipe that I've been making for a couple of years now is slightly adapted from Epicurious. Let's make them!

Chocolate Chip Scones
2 cups all purpose flour, unbleached is called for
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp.baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. cold, unsalted butter
1 tsp, packed, grated lemon peel (I usually don't use this)
3/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips-recipe calls for mini chips; I prefer the regular size
3/4 cup chilled buttermilk
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbs. sugar for topping- I use turbinado sugar( Sugar in the Raw)

Grease and flour a baking sheet. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add lemon peel, if using, and cold butter, cut up. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour until you have a fine crumbly texture. Mix in chocolate chips. In a small bowl, mix cold butter milk with egg yolk and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and gently mix until dough comes together in moist clumps. You can cover and refrigerate for a while, if desired. I often do, so that the dough won't be so sticky. If not refrigerating, gather dough into a ball and put on a floured surface. Pat dough into a 8 inch circle and cut into 8 pieces. With a pie server, transfer each piece to the prepared baking sheet, placing each piece 1 inch apart. At this point, you can either bake the scones or cover pan with plastic wrap, refrigerate, and bake tomorrow. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush each scone with milk. Sprinkle each one with the turbinado sugar, (or you may use granulated sugar). Bake for about 20 minutes, or until scones are crusty on top and a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm. They're wonderfully addictive! Do you like scones?