Cheese and Red Pepper Scones

Thursday 30 April 2020
Classic cheese scones with a piquant twist. These cheese and red pepper scones are ideal with a cuppa or as an accompaniment for soup. A melt in the mouth savoury treat. Warm cheese scones and cold butter - is there anything better?


These scones have been made many times by my daughter Iona and were a big hit at my Kitchen Table for Maggie's fundraiser last year. They are based on a recipe she made as part of her Nat 5 Practical Cookery course. Sadly because of covid-19 she won't have the opportunity to sit either the written or practical exam for this, but during lockdown she's been putting her cookery and baking skills to very good use. Each time she's made a batch of these scones and I've shared them on my Instagram stories I receive DM's asking for the recipe so it's about time I got it up on the blog.


The recipe here is double the original quantities that she originally made at school so can easily be halved for a smaller batch. We've also made a few tweaks and bumped up the quantities of cheese and peppers. When it comes to the cheese ideally choose a nice strong one for maximum flavour. Likewise on the spices if you want these savoury scones to have a real kick go heavy on the cayenne. I've always been somewhat amused when she's told me that in a school situation they actually have a spoons that are a pinch measurement. Feel free to use one or just your fingers.

Cheese & Red Pepper Scones baked by my Instagram followers


Cheese & Red Pepper Scones
400g plain flour
pinch of salt
large pinch of cayenne pepper or smoked paprika
10ml bicarb of soda
20ml cream of tartar
100g butter or margarine
100g cheese, grated
1/2 of a red pepper, finely diced
240ml milk

Wash your hands for 20 seconds
Preheat oven to 200c
Sieve dry ingredients into a large bowl
Cut up butter/margarine into cubes and rub into dry ingredients to make breadcrumbs
Add 75g of the grated cheese and the finely diced red pepper
Add milk and mix to a soft dough with a knife
Knead gently and pat down with palm of your hand to a thickness of between 3 and 4cm
Cut with your prefered size of cutter reforming the dough as required
Place on a lightly floured baking tray
Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with the remaining 25g of grated cheese
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.


Iona's top scone making tips
  • cold hands
  • don't use a rolling pin
  • the less you handle the dough the better
  • when cutting go straight down and back up - don't twist
  • make sure the milk and cheese are only on the top of the scone - not down the sides

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