These British Cheddar and Rosemary Scones are perfect for afternoon tea, and are bursting with a rich cheddar and rosemary flavor that will keep you coming back for more.
Everyone loves a good scone, but before I set out to recreate a traditional British scone for my Cook Around The World holiday series I had no idea just how many different scone varieties there are. Unlike the scones we tend to see today in America that are triangular and often served for breakfast, British scones tend to resemble more of a biscuit and are usually served with afternoon tea.
The history and tradition of afternoon tea is something that I have always loved about British culture and is something that I think more of us could use on a day-to-day basis. While the Brit’s aren’t alone in their tradition of taking some time to relax in the afternoon, they do really do it up right with all the delicious treats that come along with an afternoon tea.
For this particular scone recipe I decided to emulate the traditional British scone by cutting the scones into small rounds and opting for a more flaky dough than a typical American scone. While scones can be made plain, sweet, or savory I opted for a savory scone that would be a nice change to all the holiday sweets this time of year.
One of the best parts about this scone recipe though is that they come together really fast, and before you know it you will be bitting into a deliciously flaky traditional British Cheddar Scone. Personally, I think that these scones are perfect for afternoon tea, breakfast, and a simple snack to get you through that afternoon slump.
When making this recipe you can also choose how large you would like your scones to be. I personally wanted to emulate a British scone so I opted for smaller 2 inch round cookie cutters, but if you want a larger breakfast style scone you could go with a 3 inch cookie cutter instead. But regardless of what size you to choose to make your scones one thing is for certain — they are going to be absolutely delicious.
For these scones I partnered with my friends at Cabot Cheese who make 100% lactose free cheddar cheese and other delicious dairy products right here in Vermont. What I love about Cabot Cheese is their commitment to small-family farmers. Cabot Cheese operates as a coop, and is constant advocact for a sustainable food system here in New England, which makes them one of my favorite companies in the region. If you have ever visited Vermont you may have stumbled upon one of their tasting locations, and would know how big of a deal Cabot Cheese is here in our Green Mountain State.
Since Cabot Cheese is a local Vermont company AND makes a English style cheddar as part of their Legacy Collection, I thought it was only fitting that I make a savory cheddar and rosemary British scone to highlight the historic food culture of England with our local food culture here in Vermont.
British Cheddar and Rosemary Scones
makes ~ 22 scones
Ingredients
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2 cups all-purpose flour
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1 egg
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¼ cup sugar
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7 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
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2 tablespoons baking powder
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½ cup heavy cream
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¼ tsp salt
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2 sprigs rosemary (chopped)
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2 oz Cabot White Oat Cheddar (chopped)
Directions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
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Using a food processor, blend six tablespoons of butter (hold one tablespoon to the side), flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
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Once mixture is well combined, add dry ingredients to a medium-size mixing bowl.
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Next, add egg, cream, chopped rosemary and cheddar cheese to the mixing bowl.
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Begin to mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a fork, and then knead the dough into a ball with your hands.
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Once the dough has formed a ball, place it between two pieces of parchment paper and roll the dough to ½ inch thickness.
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Using a 2 in round cookie cutter cut the scones out of the dough and place them on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
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Repeat until all of the dough has been cut into rounds.
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Next take 1 tablespoon of melted butter and gently brush the tops of the scones with a thin coating of butter.
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Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the tops are a light golden brown.
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Remove from oven and allow the scones to cool before serving with butter, or jam.
