Bacon, Cheddar, and Chive Scones

From the Cindy Burke collection

Introduction

My local coffee shop serves bacon-and-cheddar scones, but they’re heavy and dry. I wanted a scone that tasted like breakfast, but still had the light texture of a biscuit. So I added cheese and bacon to a basic biscuit recipe, along with black pepper and chives. The results are delicate and savory.

Ingredients

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or by rubbing the mixture quickly between your fingers) until mixture is pale yellow and crumbly. Stir in cheese, chives, and bacon.
3. Add 1 cup of the buttermilk to the flour mixture. Use a spoon to mix just until all ingredients are incorporated. If your dough is too dry to hold together, use remaining buttermilk, adding a little at a time, until dough can be formed into a ball. Stir as lightly and as little as possible to ensure a lighter-textured scone.
4. Remove dough from bowl and place it on a lightly floured flat surface. Pat dough and flatten it into a circle about 1-inch thick (the circle will be about 8 to 10 inches wide). Use a biscuit cutter dipped in flour to cut the dough in circles, or cut dough into 8 to 10 equal wedges for a traditional scone shape.
5. Whisk egg and water (or cream) in a small bowl. Brush each wedge with egg wash. Divide scones between two lightly greased or Silpat-lined baking sheets and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown and baked through. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This content is from the Cindy Burke collection.