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!
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- Try Smoked Bacon Cheddar with a sprinkle of green onions.
- Add in Roasted 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 sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ⅓ cup cold butter cut into pieces
- 1 ¼ cup Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar shredded
- 2 eggs beaten
- ¾ cup heavy 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.
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These are awesome scones. Beautiful rise. Delicate crisp on the outside. Soft and moist on the inside. Love the touch of cayenne. Yum! Thanks for a great recipe!
The very best scones! Follow the recipe exactly.
These roads beautifully! I did not have heavy cream so I substituted Half-and-half and sour cream. I also added minced jalapeño. I should’ve done more and I put in some nutmeg too, should’ve done more of that also.
These scones are Amazing! I make a lot of biscuits, beer bread,etc. and this recipe is- by far the best I’ve made yet! Made as written but I did let them rest about 10-15 min before baking. Don’t leave off the cover butter! They reheated in the toaster oven remarkably too!
I let them rest for a few minutes before baking. They were delicious and gorgeous!!!
very good scones.Used buttermilk instead of cream.turned out fantastic..
These scones rose beautifully, fluffy inside with the right amount of crisp outside.
This is a glorious recipe. They turned out amazing. Light, fluffy and crisp on bottom. My nanny was from England and these taste similar to hers. Thank you so much. Will be making weekly!!!!!
You’re very welcome Brenda, so glad to hear how much you love these scones!
These look delicious! I am in the UK, please can you tell me the em equivalent cup measurements in ounces or grams? Thanks so much!
Hi Debs, I don’t have these available in grams. I would suggest using an online converter for accurate conversion amounts. Enjoy the recipe!
Loved it! Used hit red chilli instead of paprika and regular cheese (no time to get Cabot and desperate to have scones.) With wholemeal flour. Didn’t have a pastry cutter so grated in the frozen butter as well as the cheese. Had some trouble shaping the dough perhaps a little more double cream?
The scones might have been a little lighter if I had a smoother dougg but in all honesty the scones looked beautiful sunny golden and utterly irresistible. Tantalising aroma of baked scones and a warm sunny day – what a gorgeously combination. Thank you Holly
So happy you enjoyed this recipe, Taskeen! Glad we could share it with you.
Delicious! Is it possible to use parchment to bake? Mine stuck terribly to the non- stick baking pan despite following the recipe exactly…still able to get them off in one piece!
I think that would work just fine Susan. Glad you loved the flavor of these.
Tried these out and this recipe is excellent, this will now remain my go to recipe without further ado!
So happy to hear that! I love this recipe too!
My husband and I love these scones, and I make them regularly. They turn out so fluffy and light every time. I make a few modifications. I use frozen butter and grate the cheese when adding to the mixture. I also add rolled sage to the dry ingredients to give these delicious scones a savory flavor.
Those additions sound amazing, Cathy! Thanks for sharing.
Spot on. We loved it. So soft and not stodgy
at all. Thank you so much!
So happy to hear that.
Question: is the cheese measured before or after shredding? “1 1/4 cup cheese, shredded”, would seem to imply measuring before, whereas “1 1/4 cup shredded cheese” would, strictly speaking, mean that the cheese was shredded, then measured. Obviously, this would rather drastically change the quantity. Perhaps if it was listed by grams rather than volume…
This is shredded and then measured.
Cheddar cheese scones are so delicious…they turn out every time..follow instructions and make sure butter is cold from the fridge…awesome….Lori A
I made them and got rave reviews. They were delicious and filling. Great with a bowl of home made tomato soup.
Best cheddar scones I have ever made!! I added some freeze dried chives to the dough and sprinkled some cheddar on top of the scones before baking. Thx for a great recipe-a real keeper!!