CAYENNE PEPPER AND HERB CHEESE SCONES

Recipe and Photo: Elsabie Templeton
Late afternoon snack with butter… cayenne pepper and herb cheese scones. I’ve seen variations of this recipe on various pages and websites so it’s not my own nor do I know where it originally came from or who to credit.

500 ml cake wheat flour
15 ml baking powder
large pinch of salt
extra large pinch of cayenne pepper/chilli powder
good sprinkling of dried thyme or mixed herbs
250 ml mature strong Cheddar cheese grated (I grated a bit extra to put on top before baking)
15 ml oil
125 ml milk (maybe a bit more depending how dry the mixture is)
1 egg
Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
Add the cheese and mix through the flour.
Beat the egg into the milk with a fork and add the oil.
The oil replaces the butter/margarine that is normally rubbed into the flour.
Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and using a metal fork mix the dough until it clumps together but is not too dry.
Press the dough into a floured surface until 5 mm thick, then fold back onto itself (this gives the scone a natural “break” to cut open), flatten dough again gently with the palm of your hand (not rolling pin).
Press the dough with a scone cutter, taking care not to twist the cutter as that will affect the amount the scone will rise.
I added some of the leftover grated cheese on top of each scone.
Place scones on baking paper on sheet and into preheated oven at 180°C for 15 – 20 mins.
Serve hot with butter for best taste experience.