Ham & Cheese Scones

And finally I'm adding the recipe for my absolute favorite scone from Alice's that I've adapted from the Alice's Tea Cup cookbook. I've made a few changes to get the dough to a consistency that I like and to increase the amount of cheese and ham, b/c ... I like cheese and ham.

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
Ham steak (yes, a full 12 oz ham steak, diced into cubes)
1/2 a brick of cracker barrel cheddar cheese, diced into cubes (or 5-7 oz of your favorite cheddar cheese)
1/2 cub Gruyere cheese, diced into small cubes (about 1/4 pound ... maybe a little more)
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter (10 tbs) - melted
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/8 cup buttermilk (reserved)
4 strands of green onions
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F

2. Chop ham steak and cheese into cubes, set aside.

3. Clean and slice the white portion of the green onions, set aside.

4. Combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a large mixing bow. Add the cheese, ham, and green onion. Stir to coat all pieces.

5. Mix in a dash of salt and pepper.

6. Melt the butter.

7. Add the butter and 3/4 cup buttermilk to the flour mixtured. Gently turn the mixture (DO NOT KNEAD!) until everything is damp, but not sticky. Add some of the reserved buttermilk to get the right consistency (depending on how moist/dry you like your scones to be).

BE VERY CAREFUL TO NOT MIX - OTHERWISE THE SCONES WILL BE TOUGH

8. Gather and place the mixture on a floured surface. Pat the dough into a disk and flatten until about 1.5 inches thick. Use a cup and cut out as many scones as you can. Place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silimat. It is likely to be very crumbly, just do the best you can.

9. Gather remaining dough and repeat step 8 until all dough is used. Be careful to not over work the dough or it will get tough.

10. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. BE CAREFUL TO NOT OVER BAKE, otherwise the scones will be dry. When in doubt, take the scones out of the oven and let cool. Test a scone to make sure it is done. If it isn't, pop it back into a pre-heated oven for another 5 minutes.

ENJOY!!!

B, B and the littlest b at Alice's Tea

The nieces enjoying the Wee Tea at Alice's Tea Cup.