Quick Herb and Cheese Scones

I cannot understate how fast these little gems came together. I preheated the oven and threw together this dough in about 10 minutes. After I cut the scones out and put them on the tray, the tray hung out in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes. I went to pick up my kids from their after-school program. I came home. I baked the scones. Voila!

Mondays, around here, are all about soup. Mother Nature gave us a sweaty Monday this week, which was unfortunate, just when we became accustomed to the beauty of fall's crisper temperatures. But I pressed on and used up some leftover Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup mix, which has yellow split peas, barley, alphabet noodles (teeny tiny!) and lentils. It's a great base to pair with other ingredients. Mostly, though, I needed something bready. My sourdough starter is limping along and needs a few days of re-feeding in order to be ready to go for baking season, so scones it was. As for the cheese, I used a local one from Ironstone Creamery that's not likely to be reproducible by most people, so I have suggested a good sweet Gouda instead. 

They are quick! I promise. Herb and cheese scones come together in a flash. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup butter, frozen 
• 1 tsp. dried chervil (or parsley)
• 2 T. fresh chives, chopped
• 1/2 cup strong, sweet gouda, such as Prima Donna, grated 
• 1/2 cup whole milk, plus 2-3 T. for brushing the scones 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400° F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat. 

Place the flour through salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse to combine two or three times. Cut the butter into pats and add to the food processor, and turn it on for about 15-20 seconds. You do NOT want to overmix this because the dough will get too hot, so listen carefully to the processor. You should still hear a little clanging of butter against the sides of the bowl. 

Remove the bowl and transfer its contents to a medium bowl. Add the dried and fresh herbs and the cheese, and stir with a spatula to combine. Make a well in the middle of the bowl and pour in the milk. I like to use a fork to bring this together; I find it distributes the milk better than a spatula's folding action. Bring the dough together on a floured pastry board, and cover it for a minute to let it rest. 

Go wash your hands and put everything in the sink. 

Go back to the pastry board, and roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness or so. You can use any kind of cutter you like, but I opted for one that was about 2-3 inches in diameter, with a beveled edge. You should get about 12 if you use a cutter this size. Transfer the scones to a baking sheet and then place the sheet in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes (longer won't hurt it.)

Before baking, brush each scone with a bit of milk and, if desired, an herbed salt if you have one (I didn't do this but dang, what a good idea!) Bake for about 10-12 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through. Remove from the oven when they've lightly browned and cool on a wire rack. 

They'll keep for a few days in a zip-top bag and freeze well, too, should you have any leftovers. 

Enjoy!