These savoury Cheese and Herb Scones have a delicious thyme and cheese crumble topping. Use your favourite hard cheese such as Cheddar or a mix of leftover cheese. Serve as part of an afternoon tea menu with a few Muffins and Cupcakes or this amazing Biscoff Cheesecake.
Cheese Scones are the most popular savoury scones to make, but why not top them with a simple herby crumble topping using fresh herbs from the garden and your favourite cheese. Dried herbs will work just as well. Another scone recipe favourite are these Wholemeal and Rye Scones simply served spread with butter and fresh strawberries.
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Why You Will Like This Savoury Scone Recipe.
- They make a quick and delicious lunchtime snack.
- The recipe uses up any left over cheese that you have in the fridge.
- They freeze well.
Ingredients and Alternatives.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why I may have used them. See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
- Butter - Use unsalted and firm straight from the fridge, it blends better when mixing with the flour to a breadcrumb consistency.
- Flour: You will need plain/all purpose flour for the topping and self raising flour for the scone dough mixture.
- Porridge Oats - Jumbo Oats are fine, perhaps blitz them a little to break them up.
- Buttermilk - You can use a mix of whole milk and buttermilk, just use enough to bring the mixture together. Note: Buttermilk from the supermarket is generally thicker than milk.
- Egg - Glazing the scones is essential, it keeps the crumble topping from falling off the scones during baking. Use milk as an alternative.
- Cheese: Any firm cheese is fine. Grate or crumble into small chunks if you wish. Try mixing odd ends of cheese together for an interesting flavour.
- Herbs: Any fresh herbs are fine. I used fresh Thyme, make sure you remove any woody stems before chopping them up. Chopped Rosemary needles are a nice alternative.
- Salt: I prefer to use Sea Salt, but table salt is fine. You don't need much.
Step by Step Instructions for making savoury cheese scones.
Pre heat the oven to 180°C. ( Fan Assisted) oven, dust a large baking tray with flour or line it with a sheet of baking parchment.
Make the Cheese and Herb Crumble Topping. Using your fingertips, rub the butter and flour together until it resembles rough breadcrumbs. A small food processor will make the job easier and quicker. Add the salt, oats, grated cheese and chopped Herbs then stir it all together to create a rough crumble like consistency. Leave the mixture to one side while you make the scone dough.
Make the scone dough:
Step 1: Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, using your fingertips or a food processor, blend the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Step 2: Add the grated cheese and give everything a good mix then add two-thirds of the buttermilk to the mixture.
Step 3: Using a cutlery knife start to bring the dough together. If needed, add more of the buttermilk to catch the excess crumbs at the bottom of the bowl. Mix together until you have a soft dough that is not too wet or sticky. Using your hands, bring all the dough together and gently knead until you have a soft evenly mixed dough. TIP: Do not over knead or the scone could become heavy and dry.
Step 4: Roll out the dough no thinner than an inch. Using a scone cutter cut out 6 or 7 medium sized scones using a 2 inch round cutter. Glaze the top of the scone with the beaten egg, this will help prevent the Herb Topping from falling off during baking.
Step 5: Top the scones with a good heap of the Cheese and Herb crumble. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 - 20 mins or until baked with a nice golden colour on the top and underneath. Cool on a wire rack before serving.
Serve with a green salad, some nice pickles and chutney or simply spread with butter while still warm from the oven.
Storage
Room Temperature: Scones are always best eaten on the day they are made but will keep for a day if well wrapped or when kept in an airtight container.
Freezer: They are ideal for freezing. Bring back to room temperature before heating in a moderate oven for a few minutes or until warmed through.
Baker's Tips
- Tip 1 - Use milk as an alternative to the egg for glazing the top of the scones before adding the Herb topping,
- Tip 2 - These cheese scones will taste just as good without the Herb Toppings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cheese Scones go really well with chutney and pickles or simply spread with butter.
Overkneading the scone dough can make scones tough and dry.
Ideal Recipes for Afternoon Tea
After making this scone recipe please let me know how you got on by leaving a comment below. Especially if you used alternative ingredients.
Recipe
Cheese and Herb Scones
Equipment
- 1 Baking Tray
Ingredients
For the Herb Crumble topping:
- 10 g plain flour
- 15 g butter cut into small cubes
- Pinch of salt
- 10 g porridge oats
- 40 g mature cheddar cheese grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs I used thyme. Dried herbs are fine.
For the scones:
- 230 g self-raising flour plus extra for dusting
- ¼ teaspoon tsp salt
- 60 g butter cut into small cubes
- 60 g grated mature cheddar or strongly flavoured cheese of your choice.
- 160 - 170 ml Buttermilk you may not need it all. Whole milk is fine but you may not need as much.
- 1 egg beaten to glaze
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 180°C. ( Fan Assisted) oven. Dust a large baking sheet/tray with flour or line with a sheet of bking parchement.
Make the Herb Crumble topping:
- Using your fingertips, rub the butter and flour together until it resembles breadcrumbs. A small food processor will make the job easier and quicker. Add the salt, oats, grated cheese and chopped herbs then stir it all together to create a rough crumble like consistency.10 g plain flour, 15 g butter, Pinch of salt, 10 g porridge oats, 40 g mature cheddar cheese, 1 tablespoon fresh herbs
- Leave to one side while you make the scone dough.
Make the Scone Dough:
- Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, using your fingertips or a food processor, blend the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.230 g self-raising flour, ¼ teaspoon tsp salt, 60 g butter
- Add the grated cheese and give everything a good mix then add two-thirds of the buttermilk to the mixture.60 g grated mature cheddar, 160 - 170 ml Buttermilk
- Using a cutlery knife start to bring the dough together. If needed, add more of the buttermilk to catch the excess crumbs at the bottom of the bowl. Mix together until you have a soft dough that is not too wet or sticky. Using your hands, bring all the dough together and gently knead until you have a soft evenly mixed dough. Do not over knead.
- Roll out the dough no thinner than an inch. Using a scone cutter cut out 6 or 7 medium sized scones using a 2 inch round cutter. Glaze the top of the scones with the beaten egg, this will help prevent the Herb Topping from falling off during baking.1 egg beaten
- Top the scones with a good heap of the Cheese and Herb crumble. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 - 20 mins or until baked with a nice golden colour on the top and underneath. Cool on a wire rack before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Note: Recipes are tested using Metric only. The provided nutrition information is an estimate for the entire recipe, the calorie accuracy nutritional facts, unit and portion conversion are calculated by a third party app. and are not guaranteed.
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