I’ve been experimenting with scones– both sweet and savory– and these rosemary and cheddar scones are my favorite so far. Because, um, fresh rosemary. And cheese.
This recipe would be ideal for brunch during any season– Easter, Graduation, Wedding Shower, or Christmas. I used fresh rosemary from my garden, which makes me love them even more.
As an aside– here are some other brunch-y faves if you’re planning a menu: Breakfast Casserole with Sausage + Phyllo, Fried Green Tomatoes with Goat Cheese & Herbs, Biscuits, with Lemon Drizzle or Herb Butter, or Dark Chocolate Cherry Mini Scones.
But rosemary cheddar scones are not just for brunch– they are also yummy paired with a soup or salad for an easy weeknight dinner. You can even split the batch and freeze half of them before baking.
Let’s get started!
First, preheat the oven to 400°F (convection) or 425°F (regular) with a rack in the middle to upper third and line baking sheet with parchment paper (this will make your clean-up so easy).
Next, remove stems from your rosemary and rough chop. Grate the cheese. Don’t be lazy and buy pre-packaged grated cheese. Please, just don’t.
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Prep the dough
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Then, work the butter into the flour until the mixture is unevenly crumbly, with some of the butter remaining in larger pieces.
Next, mix in the cheese and rosemary until evenly distributed. Add 3/4 cup of the cream/half and half, stirring to combine. Try squeezing the dough together; if it’s crumbly and won’t hang together, or if there are crumbs remaining in the bottom of the bowl, add cream until the dough comes together. Transfer the shaggy dough to a well-floured work surface.
Then, pat the dough into a smooth 7″ disk about 3/4″ thick. Transfer the disk to the prepared baking sheet.
Use a knife or bench scraper to cut the disk into 8 wedges, spreading the wedges apart a bit on the pan. If you prefer smaller scones, make 2 smaller disks and cut into 16 total wedges.
Prep for baking
Brush the scones with a bit of cream; this will help their crust brown.
Bake your rosemary and cheddar scones in the middle or upper third of the (regular) oven for 22 to 24 minutes; 20 minutes (convection), until they’re golden brown. If you are doing mini scones, you will need less time. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan. Serve warm, or at room temperature.
Refrigerate any leftover scones, well wrapped, for several days; reheat before serving. Freeze for longer storage.
Rosemary & Cheddar Scones
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 16 mini or 8 large
Ingredients
- * 2 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
- * ½ teaspoon sea salt
- * 1 tablespoon baking powder
- * 2 teaspoons sugar
- * 4 tablespoons unsalted Irish (cold) butter
- * 1½ cups grated or cheddar cheese
- * ⅓-1/2 cup fresh rosemary (remove stems and rough chop)
- * ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream or half and half, or enough to make the dough cohesive
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (convection) or 425°F (regular) with a rack in the middle to upper third. Line baking sheet with parchment paper (this will make clean-up so easy).
- Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is unevenly crumbly, with some of the butter remaining in larger pieces.
- Mix in the cheese and rosemary until evenly distributed.
- Add ¾ cup of the cream/half and half, stirring to combine. Try squeezing the dough together; if it’s crumbly and won’t hang together, or if there are crumbs remaining in the bottom of the bowl, add cream until the dough comes together. Transfer the shaggy dough to a well-floured work surface.
- Pat the dough into a smooth 7″ disk about ¾” thick. Transfer the disk to the prepared baking sheet. Use a knife or bench knife to cut the disk into 8 wedges, spreading the wedges apart a bit on the pan. If you prefer smaller scones, make 2 smaller disks and cut into 16 total wedges.
- Brush the scones with a bit of cream; this will help their crust brown.
- Bake the scones in the middle or upper third of the (regular) oven for 22 to 24 minutes; 20 minutes (convection), until they’re golden brown. If you are doing mini scones, you will need less time. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan. Serve warm, or at room temperature.
- Refrigerate any leftover scones, well wrapped, for several days; reheat before serving. Freeze for longer storage.
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
TIPS (FROM KING ARTHUR FLOUR)
Make Ahead
Want to make scones now, freeze and bake later? Make scones up to the point they’re on the baking sheet, cut and ready to bake; don’t brush them with cream. Freeze, then remove from the sheet, and wrap airtight in a plastic bag. When you’re ready to bake, remove however many you want to bake from the freezer, place on a baking sheet, brush with cream, and bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.
Make Mini-Scones
Divide the dough in half, and roll each half into a 5″ round. Cut each round into 8 wedges. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven till golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes; or for about 25 minutes if frozen.
*I adapted this savory scone recipe from King Arthur Flour to create this recipe.
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Happy brunching!
Sounds yummy. KA also has a scone recipe which only uses heavy cream instead of butter–it’s even easier to make, super delicious, and I think your cheddar/rosemary recipe would work well with that. I’m with ya on grating your own cheese!
Thanks Kris! I’ll be sure to check out KariAnne’s recipe too. Great idea. 🙂