For the perfect breakfast, brunch, or as a side with a cozy bowl of stew, these rich and flavorful cheese scones are loaded with cheddar flavor.
Not only are they easy to make, but I’ve shared my favorite tips to ensure they come out tender and light every time. Serve these warm from the oven with butter.
I am excited to have partnered with Cabot Cheese to share these perfectly flaky cheese scones!
Cheddar Cheese Scones
Scones are the English partner to American biscuits — and these are upscaled for any time enjoyment! While scones often have added fruits (like blueberries or cranberries), I personally prefer a savory addition, like Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar and a sprinkle of chives.
Some store-bought scones can be dense, but not these! They’re extra light and fluffy with a rich savory cheddar cheese flavor.
They’re quick and easy to make and all you need is a bowl, a wooden spoon and some great cheese!
What’s in a Cheese Scone?
BASE The base of this recipe has easy to find ingredients with flour, cream, and eggs with baking powder to help them rise.
CHEESE This is where the magic comes in and since the cheese adds so much flavor to these scones, I chose Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese. This cheese is deliciously rich adding flavor to every bite. The cheese is folded into the dough ensuring savory goodness you can see throughout the flaky layers.
Cabot is a cooperative owned by over 800 farm families in New York and New England. They truly produce the best cheeses which are 100% naturally aged and naturally lactose-free! They are a certified B corporation which means they meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance.
Variations
Cabot Seriously Sharp adds great flavor to this recipe but swap it out with any of the following add-ins to make these scones your own!
-
- Try Smoked Bacon Cheddar with a sprinkle of green onions.
- Add in Garlic Cheddar with some fresh chives added right to the dough
- Or try Cracked Peppercorn Cheddar Cheese with a touch of fresh rosemary
How to Make Cheese Scones
Scones are very easy to make, here are my favorite tips to ensure they’re perfect every time:
- Use cold butter and keep the butter in the fridge until ready to use. The cold butter creates pockets giving layers and a flaky texture.
- Mix the dough using a pastry cutter and a spoon, not a mixer. Fold the cheese into the flour mixture before adding the liquid.
- Work quickly to handle the dough as little as possible.
- When patting out the dough, very lightly flour your surface if needed, I prefer to work on parchment paper. Try not to add too much extra flour, this will make the dough dense.
Tips for Storing Scones
You can freeze scones before baking meaning scones fresh from the oven at any time!
- To freeze before baking, prepare scones as directed and cut into wedges. Freeze on a baking sheet until firm. Once firm, place in a zippered freezer bag for up to 3 months.
- To bake from frozen, remove the scones from the freezer for about 20 minutes before baking (while the oven preheats). Preheat oven to 400°F and bake for 18-22 minutes or until baked through.
More Cheesy Favorites
Cabot cheeses are hands down my favorite for flavor and quality. They’re perfect slicing and snacking, the perfect addition to cheese soup, and are a favorite with breakfast egg sandwiches or sprinkled over a breakfast pizza! Add your favorite Cabot Cheese to any of the following:
- 20 Minute Broccoli Cheese Soup – so fast!
- Ham and Cheese Drop Biscuits
- Cheese Bread (Quick Bread)
- Pimento Cheese
- Garlic Cheese Toast
- Cheesy Hamburger Dip
- Quick Cheese Muffins
Did you make these Cheddar Cheese Scones? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Cheddar Cheese Scones
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ⅓ cup cold butter cut into pieces
- 1 ¼ cup shredded Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar
- 2 eggs beaten
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- milk to brush top of scone
Chive Butter (optional)
- 2 tablespoons melted salted butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or parsley
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cheese and stir to combine.
- Combine eggs and heavy cream. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until it forms a dough.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead dough by folding and gently pressing dough for 10 to 12 strokes until nearly smooth. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle and cut into 8 wedges.
- Place wedges 1-inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush with milk.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden. Remove scones from the baking sheet. Let cool slightly.
- Combine chive butter ingredients. Brush over warm scones and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Thank you Hollý excellent cheese and chive scones for a beginner. Love your recipe, easy too follow.
I just keep making them! They are so delicious!
Holly, I made your scones this morning and they are very good. I would like to make this recipe again for a group this Wednesday 06/12/24, but would like to be much smaller. I’m thinking of making the dough into a rectangle and cutting into 16 pieces. I assume the baking time should be reduced. Any suggestions?
We just made this recipe as mini for my daughter’s baby shower and they were great. We baked for about 9-10 minutes. Enjoy!
Thanks! Great idea!!
Never made scones before. These were easy and soooooo tasty!
So good ! Great recipe
this was my first time making scones
i patted the dough and used a mild cheddar . will definitely make again
These were beautiful!!
I followed the recipe, but I had no plain flour, so I used Self-raising and did not add the baking powder. I also did not add the Cayanne.
They came out so lovely and fluffy. Just like the picture!
They froze well after baking (in sandwich bags with some folded up paper towel) and defrosted perfectly. Just as delicious as when fresh.
Thank you!
I made these this morning and they rose nicely and looked great! (I do think there is too much baking soda which gave them a slightly bitter taste.)
Scones call for baking powder, not baking soda. Baking soda in this amount would definitely make your dough bitter tasting.
The best cheese scones I’ve made in a long time. This is a keeper
I’ve made a lot of scones in my day, these are the BEST non sweet scones. So flakey!! I can’t say enough how delicious these were.
Wonderful, I had in Canada with brocolli in them.
AMAZING RECIPES LOVE THEM
Made these this afternoon and they were a big hit!! Nothing better than a warm cheese scone with butter! I’ve added these to my “hit” list.
The scones were absolutely delicious!! And I really liked how light they were. Yummy!
The bake and texture on these were great. They looked beautiful and were soft and fluffy, but they didn’t taste cheesy to me at all. They were quite plain tasting, even after brushing the butter.
Can I prep these a day ahead and bake them in the morning?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Naz, but that should work just fine. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Can I use buttermilk in the scones instead of cream?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Kathy, but other readers have with great success. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
The butter in the first part of the recipe is unsalted butter I’m guessing since the second part of the recipe asks for salted butter?
The butter in the scone dough is unsalted. Enjoy Sunaina!
This is, hands down, the best cheese scones recipe I have ever made.
These scones are delicious. Such a light flaky texture. Fun to make. I grate my butter and use a pastry cutter to incorporate. If you use your hands the butter gets too warm.
Delicious, light, flavorful and yummy goodness! I didn’t have fresh parsley, so I used dried. I used a mixture of aged white cheddar cheeses. I’ll try extra sharp cheddar next time. I served with homemade black raspberry jam and over whipped (not quite butter) whipped cream, lightly sweetened. I’ll make again. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Very light! Be carefully not to add much flour. I put my cut up butter in the freezer for about 10 minutes before mixing it into the flour mixture with my hands.