Goat Cheese, Basil and Sundried Tomato Scones

I made these scones to have with soup, using the last sprig of fresh basil and a piece of soft goat cheese.

The sundried tomatoes were added for colour, and the slightly salty flavour they add to a dish.

The scones were soft and flaky on the inside, had a nice crunchy golden outside and were packed with flavour.

I used the goat cheese as part of the fat in the recipe, instead of adding it in only as a flavour component. I would add more next time; the tanginess still came through, but I think it could be more pronounced, at least for my liking!



Start off by turning the oven on to 375F, and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Measure the dry ingredients into a large bowl:

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Add the fat:

1 ounce butter, cut into small pieces
1 ounce soft goat cheese, crumbled

Using your fingers, rub the butter and goat cheese into the dry ingredients until you have achieved the texture of coarse breadcrumbs.

Stir in:

2 tablespoons finely chopped sundried tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Whisk together the wet ingredients:

2/3 cup milk
1 egg

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add half the wet ingredients.

Using a fork, gently mix to combine, adding the remaining wet ingredients as needed, taking care to mix gently with the fork or your fingertips until the mixture just starts to form a rough dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gently knead it a couple of times to form a ball.

Pat the ball down into a circle, with a thickness of  1/2" - 3/4".

Cut the scones dough into 6 wedges.

Place the scones onto the parchment lined baking sheet, and brush the tops with milk.

Bake for 15 - 17 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through for more even baking.

The tops and bottoms will be golden, but the  inside will be soft, flaky and steaming hot.








Serve the hot scones with soup, for breakfast, or use them to make sandwhiches. With or without butter, which will melt into the hot inside, these are a lovely treat, even on their own!

• If you use all butter for the fat in the recipe, you will be making a basic scone. From there you can customize it by adding cheese, herbs, spices, dried fruit or nuts to suit your preference.
• As I mentioned earlier, I felt that there could have been a bit more of a goat cheese tang, so next time I will add some extra crumbled goat cheese along with the tomatoes and basil.
• Adding the liquid as needed after the first half has been incorporated prevents the dough from being too wet. Sometimes the whole amount is not needed...this depends on many things, such as the moisture content in the air and the flour, the ingredients you have added may bring extra moisture or you may be using an extra large egg.
• Be careful not to overmix the dough, as this will activate the gluten in the flour, and the scones can become tough. This is the reason that I like to use a fork or fingertips, gently tossing the dry ingredients into the wet until it is all evenly moist and starting to form a dough.
• The scones can be made ahead and frozen; defrost before baking.

I used leftover scones to make breakfast sandwhiches, toasting them and topping them with avocado and goat cheese scrambled egg.