APPLE-SMOKED BACON AND CHEDDAR SCONES RECIPE

This recipe is from the cookbook by Rebecca Rather, The Pastry Queen:  Royally Good Recipes from the Texas Hill Country's Rather Sweet Bakery & Cafe, published in 2004 by Ten Speed Press.

Italic text below are the author's notes at the beginning and end of the recipe.

Apple-Smoked Bacon and Cheddar Scones

"My best-selling scone ever, this is a variation of a recipe I learned when I trained with noted bread maker Daniel Leader, owner of Bread Alone in Boiceville, New York, which is famous for its hearth-baked, European style bread.  Apple-smoked bacon gives these simple scones a distinctive flavor, but bacon of any stripe will work.  Cheddar is my favorite, but if I'm out of it, I substitute any cheese I have on hand--Swiss, Monterey Jack, or Havarti.  These hearty scones serve as portable breakfasts for several of my morning customers.  For an even richer scone, substitute the heavy cream for half of the buttermilk."

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1-1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
4 green onions, thinly sliced
10 slices bacon, cooked and chopped into 1-inch bits
3/4 to 1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl on low speed.  With the mixer running, gradually add the cubes of butter until the mixture is crumbly and studded with flour-butter bits about the size of small peas.  Add the grated cheese and mix just until blended.  (This can also be done by hand.  In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.  Gradually cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles small peas.  Stir in the cheese.)

Add the green onions, bacon, and 3/4 cup of the buttermilk to the flour and cheese mixture.  Mix by hand just until all the ingredients are incorporated.  If the dough is too dry to hold together, use the remaining buttermilk, adding 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is pliable and can be formed into a ball.  Stir as lightly and as little as possible to ensure a light-textured scone.  Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured flat surface.  Pat the dough into a ball.  Using a well-floured rolling pin, flatten the dough into a circle about 8 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick.  Cut the dough into 8 to 10 equal wedges, depending on the size scone you prefer.

Whisk the egg and water in a small mixing bowl to combine.  Brush each wedge with the egg wash.  Place the scones on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and no longer sticky in the middle.  Serve warm.

Yield:  8 to 10 scones

Rather Sweet Variation

"My customers demand a peppery bacon-Cheddar scone.  If you're a freshly ground pepper aficionado, too, add at least 1 more teaspoon to the recipe.  I often use a total of 1 tablespoon of pepper and I prefer it coarsely ground.)  To give these a Texas twist, I add 2 chopped and seeded fresh jalapeno peppers."

Did you like this recipe?

Get your own copy of The Pastry Queen: Royally Good Recipes:

From Ebay
From Amazon
From Biblio.com Used Books

Go Back to the Recipe Index

Go to The Pastry Queen Book Review