Chilli Cheese Scones

I felt an autumnal chill in the air this morning, is it just me?  Anyway it got me thinking that it is approaching one of my favourite times of the year.  So I thought I would try a new recipe for the coming coolness in the air and made scones.  I didn't have anything sweet in the cupboards.  I love fruit scones with lots of butter and jam, but I decided to change my recipe for these up a bit.

You can make all sorts of tweaks to this recipe which is why it is so wonderful.  


Chilli Cheese Scones:

Recipe makes 6 big scones, you can double up if you want more, which will be the case after you've tried them once!

Ingredients:

200g plain flour
50g butter (cold and cubed)
80g strong cheddar cheese
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 heaped tsp sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chilli
1/4 tsp salt
100ml milk

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220c then measure out the flour and add the other dry ingredients and mix them together.
2. Drop in your cubed cold butter and rub together until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Now add the cheese and mix so evenly distributed.
4. Gradually add the milk and mix with a knife until it starts to clump together into a dough.  Get your hands in and knead softly to form a ball.
5.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll, or pat out until it is about 2cm thick.  I use a wine glass to cut out my scones because I don't have a cutter but the size is up to you.
6.  Place onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.  Don't leave them for longer than 10 minutes without checking because depending on the oven they can burn quickly.

Take them out when golden and crisp on the outside.  Serve them with a bit of butter, but if they are just out of the oven I think they are good on their own.  Bizarrely they might be nice with jam if you're into that sweet and savoury thing.  Lovely.  Again these, with a cup of tea are glorious.