bacon cheddar scones 2.0

bacon and cheese are a match made in heaven.  of course not the healthiest but still the most delicious.  bacon of course makes everything better and many would argue cheese does the same.  i’ve already made quite a few recipes highlighting my love for bacon and cheese from my first recipe for bacon cheddar scones to bacon & cheddar muffins, and even this loaded baked potato dip.

although my first crack at bacon cheddar scones was fine, the pictures i took for that post just weren’t the best.  so i figured why not make them again so that i could do a proper post.  but then i realized i didn’t have any buttermilk but i did have a whole quart of heavy cream.  my go to recipe for sweet scones has cream so why not make a savory scone with cream.  duh!

after a quick search online, i found this recipe from king arthur flour.  it is very similar to the first recipe i made but just calls for cream instead.  sounds good to me.  the scones were full of flavor – lots of smoky bacon and sharp cheddar, and the green onion is the perfect addition to round it all out.  plus they were crispy and golden brown on the outside and still nice and fluffy on the inside, just as a good scone should be.

start by getting your main ingredients ready, fry up the bacon…

and shred some sharp cheddar cheese.  p.s. always shred your own cheese.  the pre-shredded kind has powdery stuff on it (to keep the shreds from sticking to each other) that can make your dish a little gritty.  this is especially important for things like mac and cheese.  though it doesn’t make a huge difference in scones, it’s become habit for me to just shred my own.

now in a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and pepper.

then add the butter and using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture,

until the mixture is crumbly.  you want there to still be little bits of butter because that’s what makes the scones nice and flaky.

next throw in the cheddar cheese, chopped bacon, and green onions.

stir to combine…

then pour in the cream.  start with just 3/4 of a cup and then if the dough is still dry a tablespoon at a time up to 2 tablespoons.

the dough will come together and shape it into a ball, like so.

line an 8×8 baking pan with plastic wrap and transfer the dough to the pan.   press the dough out into an even layer.

using the edges of the plastic wrap, carefully remove the dough from the pan…

then cut the dough into 16 pieces.  i find it easiest to cut it into 8 triangles and then cut each triangle in half.

transfer the scones to a parchment paper or silpat mat lined baking pan.  don’t worry about them being kind of close together.  they don’t spread much if at all.

sprinkle some shredded cheese on to each scone.

and then bake the scones at 425 degrees f for 18-20 minutes.

allow the scones to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

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pumpkin scones with spiced glaze

this past weekend i went to a potluck brunch with some friends from college.  we were all orientation leaders at gw.  well actually gw likes to have fun, snazzy names for all their programs and student employees, so at gw it isn’t orientation, it’s colonial inauguration (ci) and we weren’t orientation leaders, we were colonial cabinet members.  also there aren’t resident assistants at gw, instead there are house proctors/scholars and when i was in school they were community facilitators.  fancy, huh?

okay, not really… but enough about gw, it was so, so wonderful to see everyone who i did ci with.  i hadn’t seen them in years and i had a great time catching up with all of them.  since it was a potluck brunch, i signed up to bring scones.  i thought it would be nice to bring both a sweet and a savory scone and decided on making pumpkin scones and bacon & cheddar scones (new recipe coming soon!).

i did a quick search online and found these pumpkin scones from one of my favorite blogs, brown eyed baker.  i knew it would be good because i haven’t made a bad recipe from this blog yet.   and of course, they were delicious – full of pumpkin flavor and warm spices.  unfortunately, i think i may have used too much flour while forming the scones so they were just a tad bit dry.

still they were light and flaky and everyone enjoyed them.    i think what made these scones extra special was the spiced glaze.  of course you could just use plain ol’ powdered sugar/milk glaze but you would definitely be missing out.  i loved the extra punch of spice – cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.  amazing!

so in celebration of old friends and fall time, make a batch of these pumpkin scones with spiced glaze!

to start, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground cloves in a large bowl.

add the butter and use a pastry blender or two forks to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it’s crumbly.

perfect.

in another bowl, mix together the pumpkin, half and half, and egg.

there we go…

then pour the wet ingredients over the dry,

and use a spatula to fold the ingredients together,

until it forms a lovely ball of dough.

put the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1 inch thick rectangle.  be sure not to use too much flour or else the scones will end up a little dry like mine did.

cut the rectangle into thirds and then cut each third into 4 pieces.

arrange the scones on to a parchment paper or silpat mat lined baking sheet.  don’t worry about them being kind of close together because they don’t spread much, if it at all.

bake the scones at 425 degrees f for 14-16 minutes.

transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool completely.  while the scones are cooling, make the spiced glaze.  just combine powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch each of ground ginger and ground cloves.

then add just a little bit of milk.

and mix until it’s nice and smooth.

once the scones are cool, pour some of the glaze on to each one.

then allow the scones to dry for 1 hour to give the glaze some time to harden and dry.  then it’s time to gobble them right up!

for the recipe please visit brown eyed baker.  (the only change i made was that i omitted the powdered sugar glaze, i figured there was no need for both the regular and spiced glazes).

cinnamon sugar scones

so this is kind of random but everytime we got up to maine, one of my favorite things to do (of course, besides visiting with family and friends) is going to walmart.  we don’t have one super close to where we live, but i love exploring walmart because they always have different and fun baking ingredients that you can’t find at a regular ol’ grocery store.  this time, i picked up some cinnamon chips  which i hadn’t seen before.  they are just like chocolate chips, but cinnamon flavored.  yum!

i knew exactly what i wanted to make with them – cinnamon sugar scones!  i had already been craving some scones and i thought that these would be perfect in them… and guess what!?!?!?  they were!

there is the perfect amount of cinnamon flavor – the cinnamon chips are scrumptious and i just love the crunchy cinnamon sugar topping with the flaky, yet fluffy inside of the scone.  if you happen to find some cinnamon chips, you should definitely try these scones.  if not check out these other awesome scone recipes i’ve made before:

oh and don’t forget that you can easily freeze these scones and bake them up later for a quick breakfast treat.  just wrap them individually in plastic wrap…

and then put them in a freezer bag and stick them in the freezer!

when you’re ready to eat one, no need to defrost them – just bake them for a few extra minutes and you’re good to go!  warm, fresh, delicious scones in just minutes!

first combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.

then add some butter cut into cubes.  use a pastry cutter to break up the butter into small bits.  this will make the scones super flaky.

once it looks like coursemeal you’ve cut the butter in enough.

so i did this all wrong but now add in the cinnamon chips, then add the cream – but i added the cream first and then the cinnamon chips.  don’t worry it was still okay.

  

stir until the dough starts to form.

use your hands to knead it gently until the dough comes together completely.

press the dough into a 8×8 baking pan lined with plastic wrap.

next, mix a little raw sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.

sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture all over the scone dough.

  

slide the dough out of the baking pan and slice it into 8 sections.

if you’re going to bake them all at once, line the scones on a silpat mat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.  like i said i like to freeze them, so i froze 6 of them and baked up a couple of them in my toaster oven.

bake for 10-11 minutes at 425 degrees F and enjoy!

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cinnamon raisin scones

the afternoon i made a bunch of scones and biscuits because we had some heavy cream that i wanted to use up.  first i made cinnamon raisin scones.  i used the basic scone recipe that i’ve used before to make blueberry scones and adapted the recipe to make them with cinnamon and raisins.  i also sprinkled the scones with a cinnamon and sugar mixture which created a really nice sugary crust on the top of the scone.  yummy!

i baked one of the cinnamon raisin scones to try it out and then i froze the rest of it for later.  i also made chocolate chip scones and cream biscuits to freeze along with the cinnamon raisin scones.

we now have a freezer full of scones and biscuits for quick breakfasts and dinners.  yay!

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garlic cheddar biscuits

last night i had a random craving for garlic bread.  unfortunately we didn’t have any bread in the apartment and it would definitely take too long to make some bread.  then i remembered that a while ago i had found a recipe for garlic cheddar biscuits.  they are supposed to be like the biscuits you get at red lobster.  i’ve never been to red lobster but if they serve biscuits like these i’ll have to check it out.  they were delicious!  i used extra sharp cheddar and fresh garlic instead of garlic powder which worked great.  they were light and fluffy yet rich and buttery.  amazing!  they were quick and easy and definitely satisfied by craving for garlic bread.

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