South African Cheese Scones Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
• 2. Mix ingredients until blended. The batter should have a drop scone consistency.
• 3. Spoon batter into muffin cups until 3/4 full.
• 4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
• 5. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack, or into a lined basket. Serve warm, with finely shaved smoked ham or apricto preserves (South Africans like the combination of savory and sweet).
• 6. The cheese scones are also delicious when eaten at room temeprature.
• 7. Other additions: 1/2 c finely diced ham 1/4 c minced scallion tops 1/4 c chopped chives 1/4 c finely diced jalapenos (if you like it spicy) 1/2 c finely chopped bacon 1/3 c bacon bits

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 with a large baking tray inside. Sift the flour, salt, cayenne pepper and baking powder into a bowl, then sift again to make sure the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
• Add the butter to the bowl and combine with your fingertips to make breadcrumbs. Sprinkle 100g of the cheese into the breadcrumb mixture and rub together until evenly distributed. Try not to mix too much as the heat from your hands may start to melt the butter.
• Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in enough milk to give a fairly soft but firm dough. Do not pour in all the milk at once as you may not need it all to get the right consistency.
• Lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough to approximately 2cm thick. Cut out the scones with a medium (about 8cm) cutter, then put on a sheet of baking parchment, glaze with a little milk and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Slide onto the hot oven tray.
• Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins or until golden brown and cooked through.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and grease a 12-hole muffin tin. In a frying pan over a medium heat, fry the bacon for 5 mins until golden. Let it cool, then chop into chunks and set aside
• In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and 1 tsp sea salt. Using your fingers, mix the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs
• In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, oil and egg. Tip into the dry mixture, and gently mix until the flour mixture is mostly moistened (lumps will remain). Stir in the bacon, chives and cheese, then spoon the batter into the muffin tin.
• Put the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 20 mins or until the tops are golden brown. Serve warm.