Thursday, February 11, 2010

Cheddar and Black Pepper Scones

The Olympics are almost here! We weren't going to go to any events but then ended up buying some last minute preliminary curling tickets - one of the few tickets that were left and were relatively cheap. I'm really curious and excited to see how insanely busy it's going to be downtown Vancouver, but I'm also scared at how long it's going to take to get anywhere. The universities/colleges are closed for the two weeks (at least the main ones) so I'll have some time off and will finally catch up on people's blogs and hopefully bake up some exciting stuff! I'm thinking doughnuts, but we'll see.


Looking back over all the food I have yet to blog about, I notice that I haven't been baking much! Since Christmas I haven't baked anything sweet at all actually. I've been making lots of scones though, like these cheddar & black pepper scones. The first time I made them I used all whole wheat flour instead of all purpose, and they were so aggravatingly crumbly. I even added more yogurt than was suggested and it still wasn't enough - how can 3/4-1 cup yogurt be enough for 3 cups flour? Anyway, I persevered and made them again the next week, this time adding even more yogurt and substituting some all purpose flour. Great success! I've also made some other scones/biscuits recently, but these ones have the best texture - not too doughy, just nice and biscuity. These are my new favourite scones for sure. I'm in the mood to make lots of other kinds of savoury scones or muffins - any suggestions?

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Apple Cheddar Scones
Baking Powder Biscuits
Caramelized Onion, Sage & Cheddar Muffins
Maple Cornmeal Drop Biscuits

Cheddar and Black Pepper Scones
Adapted from The Best American Recipes 1999

Makes 12 scones

2 cups whole wheat flour (280 grams)
1 cup all purpose flour (140 grams)
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (I used 2%)

Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Cut in the butter and cheese.

Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F and set a rack on the upper-middle level. Grease a heavy baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

Gently stir enough yogurt into the flour mixture to make a soft, sticky dough. Gather the dough into a ball with your hands. On a well-floured surface, roll or pat the dough into an 12-x-8-inch rectangle approximately 3/4 inch thick. Try not to handle the dough too much, and don't worry if it looks rough. Use a dough scraper or knife to cut the dough into 12 squares/rectangles. Transfer the scones to the baking sheet. (I find it easiest to cut them in squares/rectangles but feel free to cut them any way you want or use a rimmed glass or cookie/biscuit cutter to cut out circles.)

Bake the scones for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are brown on the bottom and very lightly brown on top. Don't overbake; break one open to test for doneness. Transfer to cooling racks to cool briefly and then serve as soon as possible.

26 comments:

FH said...

Feel like grabbing one off of the screen, delicious!

Ed Schenk said...

I love scones. Especially savory ones!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Snaps to you for persevering and finding the right ratio. 1 cup of yogurt does seem like it should be able to do the job!

Do you think you could pull of a bacon, potato, & onion scone?

Dana said...

Being more of a savory rather than sweet person, I love the idea of a savory scone. That would be my perfect breakfast!

Tia said...

ooh, I never realized you were a vancouverite too! looking fwd to a crazy traffic 2 weeks, eh? me too!

Meredith said...

Maybe you could try a scone with ginger and/or lemon in it. Another idea is to try treacle scones (my Scottish heritage coming out). :)

Steph said...

I can't wait for figure skating and hockey! It must be so exciting to be in Vancouver now, but I have to admit that it's kind of sad the environmental damage these games have caused.

Those scones look so nice and flaky!

grace said...

i've always been fascinated by curling--be sure to report back on what you see!
meanwhile, i think savory scones are the way to go, and these look wonderful!

Anh said...

It looks like a great recipe! I love that it is whole-wheat!

Marcia said...

Cheese and green chiles? Have fun at the Curling events!

Johanna GGG said...

these scones look great - I was just given a request by e for cheese muffins but I think it might be cheese scones now

hope you enjoy the olympics - we had the commonwealth games in melbourne a few years back - I never went to see any sport but I loved all the peripheral cultural activities

cassie said...

wow, this looks absolutely delish..

Joanne said...

I never thought I would say this, but I am slightly sweet food-ed out and could SO use a savory baked good! These look delicious.

have fun at the Olympics!

veggievixen said...

what a great recipe!! the combination of flavors sounds great...i usually do some sort of cheese (like cheddar or blue) and herb combo...turns out pretty good.

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Mm this sounds really good. I'm glad your perseverance paid off! I really can't wait to try lower-fat scones using buttermilk or yogurt since my last ones were full o' cream.

dining room table said...

Environmental problems really have affected figure skating and hockey. But I hope everything goes well still. The scones by the way look so delicious!

Pam Walter said...

My scones always come out very dry so I have pretty much given up making them. http://blog.sweetservices.com/sweetscandyblog/

Beatrice said...

I like the idea of cheddar and black pepper. I made some corn-sweet potato muffins from the Vegetable Matter blog this morning -- I was just thinking I would like to try them again with rosemary. I wonder if you could do a sweet potato-rosemary scone?

The Food Librarian said...

Yummy scone!

The Food Librarian said...

Sorry, forgot to mention. I love the Olympics and Vancouver is so beautiful. I hope you enjoy the Olympic spirit...I still remember the Los Angeles Summer Olympics in 1984 and how much fun it was knowing the world's best athletes were in the 'hood. :) - mary

Hannah said...

It's been ages since I even thought of savory scones- Yum! And, I just happen to have a ton of vegan cheddar in the freezer... Perhaps it's time to put it to use!

Chef Aimee said...

I love savory scones - thank you for sharing this.

Lisa Turner said...

Perfect! Another version for me to try. I just posted a scone recipe with cheese too. I have been out of the loop lately and have missed checking out my favorite blogs. I hope all is well with you.

Deborah said...

I love savory scones, and these ones sound fabulous!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Yes my daughter has 2 weeks off from UBC for Reading Break. I love savoury scones so these are right ip my alley.

Cooper Classic mirrors said...

Wow! This looks really delicious. With the perfect savors. Hmmm!