Welcome to our cozy corner of the internet, where we celebrate the joy of homemade baking! Today, we’re diving into the world of scones, but with a savory twist—Ricotta Cheese and Chive Scones. These tender, flaky scones are the perfect blend of creamy ricotta and the fresh, aromatic flavor of chives, making them an irresistible treat for any time of day.

Why ricotta and chives, you ask? The creamy, slightly tangy ricotta cheese adds a delightful richness to the scones, while the chives bring a burst of bright, onion-like flavor that complements the cheese beautifully. Together, they create a scone that’s not only delicious but also versatile enough to be enjoyed for breakfast, brunch, or as a savory snack.

In this blog, I willl guide you through the simple steps of making these scrumptious scones from scratch. From mixing the dough to baking them to golden perfection, you’ll find that making homemade scones is easier than you might think. Plus, we’ll share some tips and tricks to ensure your scones turn out perfectly every time.

So, preheat your oven, grab your mixing bowl, and get ready to fill your kitchen with the heavenly aroma of freshly baked scones. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or new to the world of baking, these Ricotta Cheese and Chive Scones are sure to impress and delight. Happy baking! 🧀🌿

Why Scones?

Scones are easy to make, the dough itself can be prepared and baked in 1 hour or less. Yes, that easy! This is almost like a Soda Bread. Since this is not a yeast bread, there is no need to rest the dough. No leaving it for 1 or 2 hours in a warm place, just make the dough and bake it immediately. If you want to serve a homemade bread but you are short of time, turn to scones, scone or soda bread instead. Another good thing about Scones is that they freeze well, how does 2-3 months sounds to you? Long enough? Although I have to admit when I make my scones, it doesn’t even last a week. But still, I find it very convenient to make a big batch (double size of this recipe 12 pieces) and have it in the freezer for future baking. It’s so comforting to know that I can have freshly baked scone in the morning without having to wake up at 5 am to prepare the dough.

Tips in Making Thick Scones

Although sconess are easy to make, not all scones are created equal. Scones have a way of driving people crazy when it turn out flat and dense. It happened to me quite a few times before and so I came up with some do’s and don’t that we can follow to achieve thick scones. Here are few tips based on my experience in making them, and some as a result of my research and reading. Check them out.

Cold Ingredients

I would suggest go for freezer cold butter, not just refrigerated cold butter. The harder the butter, the slower it will melt especially while you are working on it and when it gets into the oven. I normally freeze my butter overnight before using it or if short in time, at least 1 hour should do the trick. If you are going to use a food processor to mix the flour and butter, cut the butter into cubes before putting it in the freezer, this simple step will make your life easier. Since not every one of us have food processor, you can also use a cheese grater. Freeze the butter whole and use a cheese grater. This method gives a very even size of butter and will not need that much effort to mix. I’ve tried this technique before when I made my Homemade Puff Pastry and they came out really nice and flaky.

Not only cold butter, we want all the other ingredients cold too. Mix all the dry ingredients, transfer it in a bowl and put the bowl in the fridge 30 minutes to 1 -hour before beginning. Of course, make sure the buttermilk is in the fridge as well. Take it out only when you are ready to use it.

Hot Oven

Hot oven is another key to producing tall and thick scones. This is why most recipes will say 425F when baking scones. A hot oven will make the scone rise faster and taller. So hot oven = tall cones, got it? Heat up your oven and don’t go easy on it.

Leave Pea Size Butter

Using Food processor

I often remind myself about this every time I used my food processor to prepare the dough. Always use the “pulse” setting when and do not leave it continuously processing. This could result in a tough dough, and tough dough means goodbye flakiness. So when using food processor, don’t leave it running on it’s own. You need to baby sit it for few minutes, but it’s totally worth it.

Using dough cutter

You can do this manually by using a pastry cutter. I find the butter easier to work on if it has been cut into cubes. Use a knife of a fork to mix the flour and butter, avoid touching it with  your hands. The heat from your hands could soften the butter. You want a pea size butter so watch out for that.

Using a large cheese grater – My preferred method

On the other hand, if you are using a large cheese grater, it is easier to monitor and feel the texture of the dough. Always use the butter wrapper to handle the butter when grating it, this way your hands is not in direct contact with the butter.I  like this method because it produces small pieces of butter with almost even size,  plus it requires less effort. I’ve used this method all the time when making Empanada Dough, Scones and Homemade Puff Pastry and I always get a flaky bread.

There’s a pros and cons in using food processor and manually doing it, but regardless of what method you decide, just watch out for the texture and those half pea size butter. The small size butter is important because once the scones hits the oven, those pea size butter will burst and start to melt thus creating a steam. That process creates a flaky adorable scones.

Handle The Dough with Care, Light Touch Please

You worked hard to monitor that the butter is not fully crushed and that there is half a pea size butter in the dough, don’t let this effort get to waste by kneading the dough too much. Handle the dough with care, just a light touch is needed when folding and mixing it. Stop when the dough starts to form or clump together. You don’t have to make the dough smooth, lumps and bumps are ok as this ensures that the pea size butter are intact. Remember, TLC (tender loving care) please.

Fold, Fold, Fold

Do you noticed how flaky Croissant is? This flakiness is attributed to lots and lots of folding. The more you fold it, the more the layers will form. It’s like a pages in a book that had been arranged in layers. The same concept applies to biscuit. We want to fold it gently at least 2 times before cutting it. The extra fold will give the layers in the scones. Layers + flakiness = awesome scones!

5 simple tips to a thick and tall scones, that’s all you have to remember. Now that you know them, why don’t you put them to use and let me know how it goes. Let’s get started!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose-Flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated Sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/8 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 6 tablespoon unsalted Butter, cut into thin slices, chilled in freezer
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoon Ricotta Cheese – excess water remove
• 1 1/2 tablespoon cold Buttermilk
• 2 tablespoon fresh chopped Chives

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
2. Dry Ingredients: Whisk flour, garlic powder, black pepper, chives, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a large bowl.
3. Grate the butter into flour mixture then add the Ricotta cheese. Mix the dough until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Wet Ingredients: Make a well in the center of butter and flour mixture. Add buttermilk and mix until just combined and to come together.
5. Gather and Fold: Slightly work the dough and transfer in a floured surface. Gather and pat the dough and shape into a square, about 2 – 2/12 thick. Cut into 4 pieces then stack each piece on top of each other. Press and roll again to form a square.
6. Cut: Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Alternatively, you can also shape it into a circle and cut into triangles, or use a cookie cutter to cut and shape the scone.
7. Transfer sconess to the prepared baking sheet. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.
8. Brush the tops of sconess with buttermilk. Optional but this will give a nice browning.
9. Bake in the preheated oven until browned, about 20 – 23 minutes.

Makes 4

Now or Later?

To Bake Right Away:

1. Freeze the cut scones for 30 minutes. Transfer the scones to a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet, brush the tops of thescones with buttermilk. Put the tray in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pan front to back halfway through baking. When they are golden brown, remove them from the oven. Let stand at least 2 minutes before eating or transferring to a towel lined bowl. Baking time varies depending on how thick of thin the sconet. Adjust baking time as needed.

To Freeze Scones for Later:

Transfer the unbaked, cut scone to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and stick the cookie sheet in the freezer. When the scoens are frozen solid, stack them in a resealable freezer bag, label the bag, and keep frozen until needed, or for up to 3 months. If you store them longer than that, they will still be bake-able after that, but not quite as high-rising and tasty!

To Bake the Frozen Scones:

Preheat the oven to 475°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the frozen scones on the sheet leaving at least 2 inches between each scone. Brush the scone tops with buttermilk and bake the scones for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, lower the heat to 425°F and continue cooking for 10 minutes or until the scones are golden brown, delicious looking! Remove the scne from the oven and let stand at least 2 minutes before eating.

Nutritional Information

Nutritional Information was calculated using Veryfitwell Recipe Calorie and Nutrition Calculator. For details about Nutritional Information in this website, please read the Disclaimer page.

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