Smoked Gouda and Thyme Scones

My love of scones dates back to childhood and my mother's fondness for them. And once I learned to make them, I turned out a batch every few weekends. But I admit it took me a while to go from making good scones to great ones.

Most of the scones I've produced have been sweet and either included fruit or chocolate chips. I like them a little extra sweet and with either a glaze or crunch of coarse sugar on top. But the other day I was trying to decide what to do with a block of smoked Gouda cheese, other than just eat it all standing right there by the fridge, and thought it was time to make a savory batch of scones.

The difference between good and great is less about the flavors, because I love all the flavors, and more about the method. It's a simple one bowl mixing process, as with muffins. But how you handle the dough greatly impacts the texture of the baked scones. Once you've tamed the big sticky mess into a reasonable dough, you need to give it a series of folds and turns to create flaky layers during baking. The result is a much lighter, fluffier, more biscuit-like scone that's well worth the bit of extra work. Enjoy!

Yield: 8 Servings

Author: Anita Schecter

Smoked Gouda and Thyme Scones

Prep time: 20 MCook time: 20 MTotal time: 40 M

Recipe for savory scones flavored with smoked Gouda cheese and fresh thyme.

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 Stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled
• 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 Cup grated smoked Gouda cheese
• 1 1/2 Cups heavy cream, cold

Instructions:

1. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper to a large bowl. Grade in the butter using a large box grader. Alternately, you can cut the butter into 1/2" pieces and cut it into the flour with a pastry cutter or fork. Mix the butter in until it's coated in the flour but the mixture is still coarse and lumpy.
2. Add in the cold cream, thyme and cheese. Mix with a spoon as much as you can and then turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface. It will be sticky. Work it together until you have a rectangular piece. Fold it in half, flatten out again, give it a quarter turn and fold over again. Repeat until you've made 4 folds.
3. Roll it out to a circle that's 1" thick and cut into 8 pieces. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put in the freezer while you pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
4. Brush the tops of the scones with a bit of extra cream and sprinkle on a little extra grated cheese, if desired. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Created using The Recipes Generator