A combination of white and wholemeal flour gives these crusty cheese-topped scones extra character, and the crumb is flecked with grass-green chives. Rolling scone dough out can lead to overworking, making the finished scones heavy, so instead this mixture is patted into a rectangle and cut with a table knife – an ideal job for little hands. If you’re unlucky with the weather, they’re good with a thermos of roasted tomato soup. Makes eight.
- 100g self-raising flour
- 50g wholemeal flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 40g Kerrygold butter, diced, plus more for the baking sheet
- 75g mature cheddar, finely grated
- 10g chives, about half a supermarket bunch
- Ground black pepper
- 1 medium egg
- 3 tbsp milk, plus more to glaze
To serve
- Kerrygold Butter, for spreading
- Ham, mustard or mature cheddar, optional
Heat the oven to 220C/450F/gas mark 8. Sieve the flours and baking powder into a large bowl, tipping in any bran left in the sieve as well. Add the pieces of Kerrygold Butter and rub in with your fingertips until most of the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, with a few pea-sized lumps. Reserve a tablespoonful of the cheese and add the rest to the mixture, then snip the chives into the bowl with a clean pair of scissors, season with pepper and stir to combine. Beat the egg with the milk and stir into the mixture with a table knife until it forms a soft, damp dough.
Flour the worktop lightly and tip the dough out onto it. Gently press into a rectangle about 2cm deep and cut in half, then into eight rectangular scones. Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet, brush with milk and sprinkle with the reserved cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack and serve spread with Kerrygold Butter or filled with cheese or ham and mustard.
