Cheese & Chive Scones with Buttermilk

I bake cheese and chive scones with buttermilk, in fact I always use buttermilk when baking scones. The acidity in the buttermilk makes for a softer crumb and lighter scones.

I never add sugar to savoury scone dough. Instead the flavour comes from a good crumbly vintage cheddar, some freshly chopped chives, and just a touch of English mustard powder.

I love serving savoury cheese scones, straight from the oven with some salted butter. However, they are ideal to serve with a bowl of homemade soup on a cold day.

Recipe ingredients

• Flour: I use self raising flour to make all scones.
• Raising agent: When adding in extra ingredients to the scone dough I like to add a teaspoon of baking powder to help the scones rise.
• Seasoning: I use a combination of sea salt, cayenne pepper and English mustard powder to season and flavour the scones.
• Butter: I use unsalted butter, cold from the fridge and cubed. If you use salted butter, cut down on the salt in the flour.
• Cheese: I use a strong flavoured extra mature or vintage cheddar cheese, in both the scone dough and to top the scone. You can use whatever cheese you have to hand, but its best to use a sharp crumbly cheese, rather than one that is too greasy/oily.
• Chives: I grow chives in tubs in my garden, they have a great mild onion flavour. They are also readily available to buy fresh from most larger supermarkets.
• Buttermilk: I like to use buttermilk to make scones, but you can use whole milk if you prefer.
• Egg: I use 1 medium sized egg to make the scone dough.

How to make Cheese & Chive Scones

• Preheat oven to 220C/200CFan/430F.
• Place the flour, salt, cayenne pepper and mustard powder into a large mixing bowl and give it a mix to combine.
• Add the cubed butter and lightly rub through your finger tips until the butter has been combined and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Stir through 100g (3.5 oz) of the grated cheese and the chopped chives.

• In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and using your hands, or a knife gently bring it together.
• If the dough feels too dry, you can add a little extra buttermilk to the mixture.
• It's important not to overwork the scone mixture, otherwise you will have a heavy, dense scone.

TOP TIP: It's important not to overwork the scone mixture, otherwise you will have a heavy, dense scone.

• Bring the scone mixture into a ball, without needing, and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll gently until 3cm (1 ¼-inch) thick and cut into rounds using a 6.5cm (2 ½-inch) diameter pastry cutter.
• When cutting scones, push the cutter straight down without twisting it about. If you twist the cutter your scones won't rise as well.
• Place the scones well apart on a lined baking sheet.

TOP TIP: When cutting scones, push the cutter straight down without twisting it about. If you twist the cutter your scones won't rise as well.

• Brush the top of each scone with a beaten egg or milk wash. Sprinkle the top of each scone with some of the remaining cheese.
• Place on the middle shelf of the oven, and bake for 16-18 minutes until the top is golden and the cheese bubbles.
• Remove from the oven and set the scones onto a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes and serve warm.

Recipe variations

Cheese scones are easily adapted and you can add in other flavours. The trick is not to overload your scone dough with too many extra ingredients or they won't rise. Here are some ideas:

• Cheese - cheddar, parmesan, blue cheese, feta, crumbly goat cheese
• Fresh herbs - chives, parsley, basil, thyme
• Meat - crispy bacon pieces, or thinly sliced chorizo or salami
• Tomatoes - sun-dried or sunblush tomatoes finely diced
• Spices/seasoning - smoked paprika, chili powder, chili flakes, dried oregano, Italian seasoning

Serving suggestions

I like to serve the scones straight from the oven with some salted butter and quite often some marmite, pickle or some of my Spicy Sweet Chilli Jam.

However, if you want something a little extra, try a savoury alternative to a cream tea. Swap the clotted cream for some cream cheese, and the jam for onion jam, savoury chutney or pickle, try my Pear & Walnut Chutney, or Spiced Pear & Apple Chutney.

How to store scones

Scones are best enjoyed the day they are baked. However, you can store leftovers.

Countertop: Store for 1-2 days in an airtight container on the counter-top, just warm them up a little before serving.

Freezer: You can also freeze cheese scones, just allow the scones to cool then place in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, defrost and I recommend warming up a little in a hot oven.

Useful hints and tips

1. Use a strong flavored, crumbly cheese like a sharp vintage cheddar. Don't be tempted to use an oily cheese or you'll end up with heavy, greasy scones.
2. Use cold butter straight from the fridge cut into cubes. Cold butter is easier to rub and work into the flour and will result is a lovely flaky fluffy textured scone. If you use warm butter you risk it melting in the oven before the scone has baked.
3. When glazing the scones before baking with an egg or milk wash, take care not to allow it to drip down the sides or the scone may not rise.
4. Vegetarian: to make vegetarian cheese scones, ensure you use a suitable vegetarian cheese in place of the vintage cheddar.
5. Allergy advice: these scones are soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you like this recipe then try some of my other savoury bakes:

• Cheese & Jalapeno Scones
• Carrot & Courgette Breakfast Muffins
• Buttermilk Cheese Scones
• Courgette & Cheese Bread with Walnuts