Tag: #savory
“Bacon Up” Some Savory Scones

“Bacon Up” Some Savory Scones

By | | Comments 0 Comment

It is not surprising that I love scones.  Scones are the British version of biscuits and as you all know, I am obsessed with biscuits.  I will go in search of two things on my travels, BISCUITS and PIE. Yep, I have been known to detour far and wide for either.  I may not go out of my way for a scone (who am I kidding, yes I will), but if I happen on a bakery and they have scones, that’s what will be sitting next to my cup of joe.  At home, my favorite scone recipe is from Dorie Greenspan.  Tender, crumbly, buttery, a touch of sweetness-downright delicious.  Make it with currants for a classic cream scone, or change it up and add orange zest and dried cranberries or my personal favorite, lemon and wild blueberries.

But this post takes a walk on the savory side.  Recommended by my friend Mary, baker extraordinaire-Bacon, Cheddar, Chive Scones from King Arthur Flour are seriously addicting.  That first bite fills your mouth with buttery crumbs, chunks of golden cheese, flecks of green chives, and then…wait for it..sweet, salty, crispy, bits of BACON.  Hello?  Are you smacking your lips right now?  You should be.

bacon cheddar chive scone

These are quick and easy to make and you can freeze the unbaked scones, take them out in the morning, throw them in the oven and voila, 30 minutes later, you are enjoying freshly baked warm scones.

After cutting the butter into the flour mixture, add your flavor bombs.

Add cream and fold, smoosh the dough together and form a disc approximately 1 inch thick, cut into wedges.  Do not overmix, but the dough should come together when pinched.  Add cream in tablespoon increments if necessary.

Confession.  The first time I made these was on a whim.  I opened the door to my fridge, hmmm, no chives, scallions will have to do.  What? No heavy cream, you’re kidding… well, I do have half & half, why not?  The trifecta of substitutions, I had a medley of cheese, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Mozzarella no cheddar.

Last minute bakers cannot be choosy.

The scones turned out fine. Light, great bacon flavor, definitely a keeper and I saved all those calories using half-half. Not bad!

The next time I was prepared-heavy cream, pastry flour, chives, sharp cheddar cheese…you betcha’.  This scone was a bit denser and moister, I could taste the sharp cheddar and overall the scone seemed richer.

Both scones were delicious.  So I leave it to you.  For a richer scone use heavy cream, for a lighter scone use half & half but definitely use sharp cheddar cheese for flavor.  I might even add some chopped jalapeno next time to spice it up a bit.  Woohoo!

**Alert** If you are a purist do not read the next paragraph.  The recipe calls for approximately a cup of chopped bacon.  That’s a lot of bacon.  You COULD oven-bake or pan-fry (all that splatter, ugh) the half pound of bacon and crumble it into bits, OR you could go to Costco and buy ready to use REAL bacon bits.  We are not talking imitation Bacobits but real bacon.  Snap, So EASY.

 

 

 

Print Pin

Bacon-Cheddar-Chive Scones

Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American, British
Keyword scone
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or Pastry Flour Blend either works fine
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cold butter
  • 1 cup very coarsely grated or diced cheddar cheese grated works well
  • 1/3 cup snipped fresh chives or finely diced scallion tops the green part
  • 1/2 pound bacon cooked, cooled, and crumbled (about 1 cup)* see text above
  • 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream or whipping cream or enough to make the dough cohesive

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the middle to upper third. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.
  • Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is unevenly crumbly, with some of the butter remaining in larger pieces.
  • Mix in the cheese, chives, and bacon until evenly distributed.
  • Add 3/4 cup of the cream, stirring to combine. Try squeezing the dough together; if it's crumbly and won't hang together, or if there are crumbs remaining in the bottom of the bowl, add cream until the dough comes together. Transfer the shaggy dough to a well-floured work surface.
  • Pat the dough into a smooth 7" disk about 3/4" thick. Transfer the disk to the prepared baking sheet. Use a knife or bench knife to cut the disk into 8 wedges, spreading the wedges apart a bit on the pan.
  • Brush the scones with a bit of cream; this will help their crust brown.
  • Bake the scones in the middle or upper third of the oven for 22 to 24 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan.If they brown too quickly, cover loosely with foil.   Serve warm, or at room temperature.
  • Refrigerate any leftover scones, well wrapped, for several days; reheat before serving. Freeze for longer storage.

Notes

Want to make scones now, freeze and bake later?
Make scones up to the point they're on the baking sheet, cut and ready to bake; don't brush them with cream. Freeze, then remove from the sheet, and wrap airtight in a plastic bag. When you're ready to bake, remove however many you want to bake from the freezer, place on a baking sheet, brush with cream, and bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.
Make mini-scones: Divide the dough in half, and roll each half into a 5" round. Cut each round into 8 wedges. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven till golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes; or for about 25 minutes if frozen.
Happy New Year! Bouchon’s Gougeres

Happy New Year! Bouchon’s Gougeres

By | | Comments 1 comment

Happy Gougere!

What?!  Too cheesy?

I had writer’s block when I sat down to compose this post.  Staring at my screen, fingers poised on the keyboard, sipping a glass of wine and munching on these cheese puffs I had just pulled out of the oven, I was drawing a blank. Then my cell phone rang, “Happy New Year!”  blurted a voice at the other end. Ta-da! Blogger’s block gone.

Continuing with my exploration of the Bouchon Bakery book I ooh-ed and aah-ed my way through the chapter on pate a choux (aka cream puff pastry).  Dreamy cream puffs with a crackle finish, Chocolate Eclairs, Paris Brest-all looked exquisite. I wanted something simpler plus I had a wedge of Comte cheese in the fridge so I chose his recipe for the humble Gougere.  Cheese, finely shredded, is added to choux pastry to create a savory, airy, small bite, perfect with wine or champagne.  My next happy hour nibbler board will definitely include these little gems.

The recipe is straightforward. Be sure to have all your ingredients out and prepped before you begin. Water and butter are heated to which flour is added and stirred until it forms a ball that pulls away from the sides of the pot. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl, blend briefly to release heat and moisture and add eggs a couple of tablespoons at a time. NOTE: TK uses weights for measurements in this book.  Very helpful to have a scale.

The batter will look like this after adding eggs and blending.

I cheated. I didn’t have the silicon round pan so I used my non-stick donut hole pan instead (yay, I used it for something!) It worked well though they needed to sit a couple of minutes before I could remove them easily.  I also didn’t have a pastry bag handy so I used a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and snipped off a corner.  Piping directly onto parchment or a Silpat probably works just as well.

Next time I make these I may change up the type of cheese (gruyere cheddar), add chili pepper instead of black pepper and add chopped chives or green onions, yum!  The batter freezes well so you can keep a supply of shaped ones in the freezer for impromptu get-togethers.

Stretching the boundaries, I’ve decided to make this Cookie #10 on my 12 days of holiday cookies list. They’re small and bite-size just like a cookie.  I’m tackling Bouchon’s Cream Puffs one of these days!

Bouchon’s Gougeres

 

Print Pin

Happy New Year! Bouchon’s Gougeres

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp water
  • 2.2 ounces unsalted butter 4.5 Tablespoons
  • 1/2 + 1/8 tsp kosher salt
  • 0.3 grams freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup + 2 1/2 tsbp all purpose flour
  • 150 grams eggs approximately 2 eggs-crack eggs into a bowl, blend eggs and weigh out amount
  • scant 1 cup aged shredded gruyere cheese
  • options: Add chopped green onions or chives to batter 2 T, sprinkle tops with additional shredded cheese

Instructions

  • Combine the water, butter, salt, pepper in a medium saucepan, place over medium heat and stir until butter is melted. Once the butter has melted, increase heat to medium-high and then bring to a simmer, then remove pan from the heat, with a wooden spoon, stir in all the flour.
  • Continue to stir for 1 1/2 minutes until the mixture has a paste-like consistency, then place over medium-high heat and stir rapidly for 1 minute, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and the bottom of the pan is clean. The dough should be glossy and smooth but not dry.
  • Immediately transfer the dough to a mixer bowl and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to release some of the moisture. Slowly begin to add the eggs, 50 grams at a time, beating until each addition is completely absorbed before adding the next one. Continue adding the eggs, mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl pulled with the paddle but immediately grabs back on again.
  • Increase speed to medium for 15 seconds to ensure that all the eggs are incorporated. Stop the mixer. When the dough is lifted, it should form a bird's peak- it should hold it's shape and turn down on itself but not break off. Add the cheese and pulse to incorporate (I used my mixer and blended the cheese in quickly)
  • Put batter into pastry bag. Pipe into molds (I didn't have molds, I used my donut hole pan) Or pipe little free form balls, slightly less than 1 inch in diameter onto a baking sheet, spread about 1 1/2 inches apart. When finished piping, I used my finger dipped in water, to push down and get rid of the little tip that is left on top of each one from the piping.
  • Freeze the gougeres for about four hours until firm.
  • If you want to bake some right away. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.
  • If you are baking from frozen: Preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheet with frozen gougeres, leaving about 1 inch between them. Spray lightly with water. Place in the oven, immediately lower temperature to 350F and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.