If you’ve only ever had your scones with clotted cream and jam, it’s high time you tried some savoury scones. This recipe is great for a light lunch with friends – it makes about 16 scones – and vegetarians can obviously leave out the bacon if they like.
Step 1 - Preheat your oven to 200oC.
Step 2 - Grease a baking tray with butter or margarine (or just use a non-stick baking tray). If you are cooking these scones without bacon, skip to Step 5.
Step 3 - Cut the fat off your bacon and cut it into small pieces.
Step 4 - Fry the bacon pieces in a pan over a moderately high heat. Once the bacon begins to turn crispy, remove it from the pan and place it onto a plate to cool down (use kitchen roll to remove any excess grease).
Step 5 - Sieve your flour into a mixing bowl.
Step 6 - Cut the butter into small cubes and rub these cubes into the flour. Keep going until you are left with a breadcrumb-like mixture.
Step 7 - Grate your cheese into the mixing bowl. Add the bacon too, if you're using it. Mix thoroughly with a spoon or whisk.
Step 8 - Add the milk to your bowl and mix until the mixture forms a soft dough that can be easily kneaded.
Step 9 - Sprinkle some flour on your kitchen surface and tip the contents of your bowl onto this surface. Knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth.
Step 10 - Use a cookie cutter to cut scone shapes out of the dough (as we mentioned earlier, there should be enough dough for roughly 16 scones). Place these on your baking tray and cook for 20 minutes in the pre-heated oven.
The scones should be a golden-brown colour when you take them out of the oven. Cut each one in half, spread some butter on the inside, and serve 'em while they're still nice and warm!
