Cheese, Sundried Tomato & Pesto Scones

Delicious savoury scones with sundried tomatoes, pesto and cheese

Course Snack

Cuisine British

Keyword Bread

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 14

Total Time 39

Servings

Calories 354kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

250 g Self raising flour
1 tsp Baking powder
¼ tsp Salt
50 g Butter cold, unsalted
85 g Mature cheddar grated
2 ½ tbsp Milk
70 g Pesto (make sure it is suitable for vegetarians if you are serving to vegetarians)
1 Egg large
60 g Sundried tomatoes diced
1 tbsp Whole milk for glazing, optional

Pre-heat your oven to 200C Fan/220C/400F/Gas Mark 6, and place a baking tray in the oven
Stir the self raising flour, salt and baking powder together a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs
Stir in 70g of the grated cheese
Use kitchen towel to soak the oil from the tomatoes then cut them up using scissors. Aim for the pieces to be about the size of a raisin. Add them to the flour mixture and stir in
In another mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, pesto and egg
Pour the pesto mixture into the flour and make a dough. Pat it out onto a clean work surface dusted with flour to about 2cm thick and cut out the scones using a round cutter, size of your choice (I used a 2.5" cutter). Push the cutter straight down and do not twist it. Reshape the dough and cut out more rounds until it's all used up
Brush the top of the scones with the milk, then sprinkle on the reserved cheese
Place the scones onto the pre-heated baking tray, bake for 12-14 minutes or until they are golden brown and risen
Remove from the oven and allow to cool, you can eat them warm or cold
Store in an airtight container and eat within 2 days. They can also be frozen

I prefer to use unsalted block butter for scones, you can use a baking spread, but butter has a nicer flavour. Baking spread can also make the dough wetter due to it's higher water content.
You can use either whole milk or semi-skimmed milk for this recipe. Or a plant based milk, like oat milk for example.
The best cheese to use for these scones is a strong cheddar, so the cheese flavour really comes through. You could also use red leicester, or a half and half mix.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50).
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.