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Easy Ham and Cheese Scones

Easy Ham and Cheese Scones

A few weeks ago I was making our apple pie scones and suddenly had the brilliant idea of making a savory version, easy ham and cheese scones! ohsweetbasil.com

A few weeks ago I was making our apple pie scones and suddenly had the brilliant idea of making a savory version, easy ham and cheese scones!

The only way I could ever convince our family to ditch the amazingly wonderful sweet version of a scone was clearly to add cheese. Cheese makes everything better. And bacon. Shoot, I need to try a bacon version!

Grab your leftover Easter ham and make these buttery and flaky scones!

What Ingredients are Needed for Ham and Cheese Scones?

Tender scones are just a few pantry staples away! A good scone needs only a few ingredients, butter (or shortening if you must), buttermilk, salt, and baking powder. Everything else is just to adjust the flavor. Here is a complete list of all the ingredients you will need:

  • Flour: gives structure to the scones and regular all purpose flour is all you need
  • Sugar: adds a touch of sweetness to balance out all the savory ingredients
  • Baking Powder: the true raising agent that adds the real height you’re looking for. Do not use a substitute.
  • Salt: necessary in both sweet and savory dishes as it provides the flavor. Yes, cheese and ham are in there, but everything needs seasoning. I love that salt not only flavors a dish but it also makes the other ingredients stand out even more.
  • Unsalted Butter: gives you those tender, flakey layers and margarine just wont cut it in this case. As the steam rises so does that beautiful hunk of dough, creating a pillow of bread once cooked.
  • Buttermilk: use for savory scones while cream is great for a sweet scone. This allows for the dough to come together but still have enough fat to keep it a tender dough.
  • Colby Jack Cheese: we love colby jack, but you could use cheddar cheese, swiss, pepper jack or really any type of cheese you love.
  • Diced Ham: a perfect way to use leftover spiraled ham or you can buy cubed ham from the store.
  • Fresh Chives: fresh herbs make all the difference when it comes to flavor but if you need to use dried chives, use just 1 teaspoon. You could also use scallions.
    • TIP: If you’re not a chives fine, you can use fresh parsley or thyme.
  • Butter: I know butter has already been listed, but we use it again brushed on top as a finishing touch on these perfect scones.

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Recommended Equipment

Pizza Cutter – This is a MUST in our house. The Dexas pizza cutter isn’t a steel blade, but a plastic blade and if you watch our videos you’ll notice I use a plastic pizza wheel all the time to cut dough. It is so much easier than a knife and wont harm any pans or counter tops. This particular wheel is extra cheap and it has prime shipping on Amazon. Totally worth it.

Silicone Mat – You’ll often hear us say that we prefer to bake on a silicone mat because it promotes evenly cooked food that doesn’t stick to the pan. You wont have extra brown bottoms. 🙂 Scones are a perfect example of why this is a good investment and the one we linked to has so far proven to be the best as far as durability and performance. Kneading the dough and rolling it out on a mat keeps you from over flouring as the dough wont stick, thus you wont end up with dry, crumbly scones. Just place it on the cookie sheet, knead, shape and cut the dough then it’s less cleanup, just brush off any excess crumbs before baking.

Pastry Cutter – A pastry cutter is something we use for things like crisps, crumbles, streusels, pie, scones, biscuits and on and on. It’s just easier than busting out two awkward knives or forks or trying to use your fingers which often makes the butter too warm and smashes it into the flour too much, thus creating a messed up dough.

How to Make Scones

Let’s get to the important part of this, how to make scones so you can devour them. We usually make this easy ham and cheese scone recipe on breakfast-for-dinner nights, served with a little fresh fruit and fluffy scrambled eggs, but you can do them any ol’ time. They are especially lovely during the spring for Mother’s Day, for wedding and baby showers, a brunch with friends, etc.

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
  2. Whisk: In a large bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients.
  3. Cut: Add the cold butter and cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender.
    • TIP: You can also use two knives or forks to mix in the butter. You don’t want the butter totally mixed in but everything should be mixed together and be coarse crumbs.
  4. Stir: Use a wooden spoon to stir in the remaining ingredients (except the melted butter) until a soft dough forms.
  5. Knead: Move the dough to a silicone mat or parchment paper and knead the dough just a few times until it comes together.
  6. Roll: Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a circle until it’s about 1″ thick and then cut into 8 wedges.
  7. Bake: Place the wedges of scone dough onto your prepared baking sheets and bake until lightly browned.
  8. Brush: Remove the baked scones from the oven and brush with melted butter and sprinkle with extra chives.

All of these instructions in full detail can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

How are Scones Different From Biscuits?

Most of the time I don’t really see scones as similar enough to biscuits to think about it but the truth is they are very similar. A scone often has an egg or two in it while biscuits don’t. That’s honestly the only difference.

Both have a fat cut in to the flour and a liquid, both can be cooked in the oven on a pan or in a skillet. Both can be fluffy, tender and wonderful.

How Long Do Scones Last?

Scones are one of my favorite things to make because they have that tender, flaky quality to them and they really are much easier to make than one might think.

But mostly I love them because while they are obviously best enjoyed fresh, scones can be stored in airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator and up to 2 months in the freezer!

It’s so easy to make a double batch and freeze half for later. You can freeze the baked scones or the unbaked scone dough.

Can You Freeze Scone Dough?

Why yes you can! Place the dough wedges on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then place the frozen dough wedges into a freezer bag and store for up to 2 months. Bake them straight from the freezer and allow 2-4 more minutes in the oven.

Scones are pure comfort food, and these savory ham and cheese scones are sure to be a hit in your family! Use leftover Easter or Christmas ham and your favorite cheese to load up these golden homemade scones!

More HAM RECIPES You Will Love:

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Easy Ham and Cheese Scones

Description

A few weeks ago I was making our apple scones and suddenly had the brilliant idea of making a savory version, easy ham and cheese scones!
Course Over 400 Baby Shower Food Ideas that Taste Amazing
Keyword breakfast, brunch, cheese, ham, scones
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 351kcal
Author Sweet Basil

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 Tablespoon Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter 8 Tablespoons or 1 stick, cut into cubes, * see note
  • 3/4 Cup Buttermilk chilled
  • 1 1/4 Cup Colby Jack Cheese shredded
  • 1/2 Cup Diced Ham
  • 1-2 Tablespoon Fresh Chives chopped, plus more for garnish
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter melted

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper; set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to evenly combine everything. An unmixed bowl of dry ingredients will lead to uneven scones when baked as the ingredients won't be properly distributed.
    2 Cups All-Purpose Flour, 1 Tablespoon Sugar, 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder, 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • Add cold butter to the flour mixture and using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. You may use your hands if needed but be careful to not completely mix the butter in.
    1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
  • Using a wooden spoon, stir in buttermilk, cheese, ham and chives until a soft dough forms.
    3/4 Cup Buttermilk, 1 1/4 Cup Colby Jack Cheese, 1/2 Cup Diced Ham, 1-2 Tablespoon Fresh Chives
  • Working on a silicone mat or parchment paper on a cookie sheet or pizza stone, knead the dough only a couple of times until it comes together.
  • Using a rolling pill, roll the dough into an 8″ circle, about 1-inch thick, and cut into 8 wedges using a pizza wheel or knife.
  • Place into oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until firm to the touch and lightly browned.
  • Remove from the oven and brush with a little melted butter and sprinkle with chives.
    2 Tablespoons Butter
  • Serve immediately. See note for storage and freezing instructions.

Notes

We prefer to take our butter out, cut into cubes, and place back in the fridge while we prepare the other ingredients in order to keep it cold. To store, place the scones in a tupper ware or zip top bag and store in the fridge until you eat them again, up to 1 week. To freeze the dough, separate the wedges and freeze on a cookie sheet. Place the frozen dough in a zip top bag and store in the freezer, up to two months. When you bake them, take them straight from freezer to oven but allow an additional 2-4 minutes for baking. To freeze the baked scones, allow to cool completely and place in zip top bags, pressing out any remaining air and seal. Store in the freezer up to 2 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 351kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 342mg | Potassium: 247mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 700IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 241mg | Iron: 2mg

Apple Pie Scones with Brown Butter Glaze

Cade may love crepes but I’m a pretty die hard scone fan lately. My goodness they are wonderful.

READ: Easy Ham and Cheese Scones

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