Bacon and Cheese Scones

Let's start with "I should have cooked the bacon the night before".  This would have only taken about as long as regular scones if I had made the bacon and chopped the onion and cheese ahead of time.  Instead, it was close to an hour.  But it was definitely worth the hour.

Most versions of this recipe call it something for brunch or a savory scone for tea.  I say it's good any time.  King Arthur Flour's recipe, and the entire first page of Googling "bacon and cheese scones", uses cheddar.  I felt like using swiss.  Pepperjack, colby-jack, or white cheddar would work.  You could possibly use a stronger cheese like feta or chèvre, but they would start to overpower the bacon.  The other versions also tended to use chives or green onions.  I love onions in general and went with a stronger red one.

I don't normally use cream in my scones, just milk.  There's enough fat from the butter, and I did use actual butter.  But, I had bought a quart of cream for the many recipes I have lined up and could spare enough for a half-batch, which was how much bacon I had on hand.  I don't know if it made much of a difference in the richness, since the cheese would have made it creamy as well.  Brushing it on top did make them brown better.

1 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Tb baking powder
1 tsp sugar
2 Tb butter
*1/2 C finely diced swiss or similar cheese
*2 Tb minced red onion or shallot
*1/2 C cooked, diced bacon (about 1/4 lb)
1/2 C cream divided

1.  Preheat oven to 425º.  Line a sheet pan with parchment or a silpat.

2.  Stir together flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.  Cut in butter to make coarse crumbs.

3.  Stir in cheese, onion, and bacon to distribute.  Reserve 1 Tb of cream and pour the rest in the bowl.  Stir to create a soft, sticky dough.

4.  Scrape out batter onto parchment.  Press into a disc.  Using a knife or bench scraper, cut disc into 6 pieces, keeping them touching.  Brush top with remaining cream.  Bake for 22-24 minutes, until center is set.  Allow to rest for several minutes before breaking apart and serving.

Makes 6 (or 8 smaller)

Difficulty rating  :)