Scones, according to my grandmother, should be “ten minutes to make, ten minutes to bake” and as they are made from store cupboard ingredients, they can be made at the last minute when friends are calling round or for an impromptu afternoon tea. Indeed, they are best eaten on the day they are made.

They are so simple in their preparation and require very little equipment (unless you are cheating and use a food processor!) and therefore great for the children to help with, with some adult supervision of course.

Cheese scones Ingredients (makes approximately 10, depending on size) 250g self raising flour 60g butter or block margarine, chilled 90g grated cheddar cheese ½ tsp salt ½ tsp baking powder ¼-½ tsp cayenne pepper 150ml milk Beaten egg or milk to glaze

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C, gas mark 7.

2. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. There should not be any big lumps of butter left. If you shake the bowl, any lumps should come up to the surface. Alternatively this can be done in a food processor (but pulse the mixture so that you do not over-work the dough).

3. Stir in the cheese, salt, baking powder and cayenne pepper.

4. Make a well in the centre and gradually add the milk. Combine together until a dough forms, taking care not to over-work it or the scones will be tough.

5. On a lightly floured surface, use your hands rather than a rolling pin to gently pat the dough into a flat circle about ½” or 1½cm in thickness. Use a cutter to cut out the scones ensuring that they are shaped as evenly as possible. Carefully combine the trimmings together again so that you can cut out more scones.

6. Place the scones on a non-stick or lightly greased baking tray. Lightly brush with a drop of beaten egg or milk and then bake immediately in the hot oven for 10-12 minutes or until well risen and golden.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

8. Split and serve with either butter or cream cheese.

  • If you wish, add a tablespoon of finely chopped chives to the mixture along with the cheese.
  • A good tip is to lightly dust the cutter with flour before cutting out the dough to prevent the dough sticking to the cutter. Strictly speaking, a plain cutter should be used for savoury scones, and a fluted one for sweet scones. You could always cut the dough with a knife if you do not have a cutter.
  • If your hands get very sticky with the dough, rub them together with a little flour.
  • Some scone recipes have eggs in them but I find the combination of self-raising flour and the baking powder results in very light scones.