Scones With Pears Irish Cheddar And Honey Food

SCONES WITH PEARS, IRISH CHEDDAR, AND HONEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, 2 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a large bowl to combine. Add butter to bowl and, working with a few pieces at a time, scoop some butter and flour mixture into your hands. Squeeze butter, pressing thumbs across your fingertips to flatten into petal shapes. Repeat until all butter is flattened and coated with flour mixture.
• Add caraway seeds and currants to bowl, tossing to combine. Slowly add 1 cup buttermilk, stirring constantly with a fork, just until mixture begins to form clumps. Add more buttermilk if necessary, 1 tablespoon at a time, until no dry flour mixture remains in bowl.
• Transfer mixture to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Lightly dust hands with flour and gather mixture into a ball, gently squeezing to form a dough (it may still crumble slightly).
• Flatten dough to a 1-inch thickness and fold in half. Flatten and fold once more. Gently shape into a 1-inch-thick, 7-inch-diameter round. Cut into 8 equal wedges, then separate wedges 1/2 inch apart. Brush tops with buttermilk; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
• Bake scones until puffed, golden brown on top, and hollow-sounding when tapped on bottoms, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool slightly on a wire rack. To serve, split scones, sandwich pear and cheddar slices, and drizzle with honey.

IRISH CHEDDAR SCONES WITH CORNED BEEF AND APPLE SLAW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse once. Sprinkle the butter evenly on top. Pulse, pulse, pulse - in 1-second bursts - until the mixture looks like grated Parmesan cheese.
• Add 1 1/2 cups of the Cheddar and pulse, pulse, pulse, while slowly drizzling in the cream, until the dough starts to come together.
• Form the dough into a disk, and transfer to a floured work space. Gently roll the dough with a rolling pin into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Cut out 35 pieces of dough, using a 1-inch-diameter ring mold, and transfer to a parchment-paper-lined sheet pan.
• Bake, turning the pan halfway through, until golden brown and cooked through, 14 to 15 minutes. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, combine the malt vinegar and apples in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the creme fraiche, scallions and remaining Cheddar, and mix well.
• When the scones are cool enough to handle, halve them equatorially. Place 1 slice of the corned beef on the bottom half of the scone, and top with the apple, cheese and scallions, followed by the top half of the scone. Repeat until all of the scones are filled.

HONEY-CHEDDAR SCONES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray.
• In bowl, stir flour, baking powder and salt until blended.
• Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add 1 cup of the cheese and scallions, toss to blend.
• In a bowl, whisk half and half, 1/3 cup of the honey and eggs until thoroughly blended.
• Slowly pour over dry ingredients, stir until evenly moistened.
• Gather sticky dough together, turn out onto a well-floured board.
• With floured hands, pat 12 even portions of dough into 2 1/2 inch wide discs.
• Place 6 discs, 1-2 inches apart on each baking sheet.
• In glass measure, heat the remaining 2 T honey in microwave 10 seconds.
• Brush honey over tops of scones, sprinkle each with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
• Bake 20-25 minutes, or until dark golden brown.
• Cool on baking sheet 10 minutes.
• Serve with butter or honey butter.

CHEDDAR AND PEPPER SCONES

Steps:

• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut in the butter and cheese. Stir in the pepper.
• Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F and set a rack on the upper-middle level. Grease a heavy baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
• Gently stir enough buttermilk or yogurt into the flour mixture to make a soft, sticky dough. Gather the dough into a ball with your hands. On a well-floured surface, roll or pat the dough into an 12-x-8-inch rectangle approximately 3/4 inch thick. Try not to handle the dough too much, and don't worry if it looks rough.
• Using a large spatula or a couple of spatulas, transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Use a dough scraper or knife to cut the dough into 40 squares, each 1 1/2 inches. Separate the squares slightly on the baking sheet. Brush each square with a little milk. (Or cut circles out of the dough with the rim of a glass or a biscuit cutter and transfer them to the baking sheet.)
• Bake the scones for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are brown on the bottom and very lightly brown on top. Don't overbake; break one open to test for doneness. Transfer to cooling racks to cool briefly and then serve as soon as possible.
• To serve: The scones are still good when cool, but they are best when just out of the oven. Butter and scrambled eggs are appropriate accompaniments.

PEAR SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Sift together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; cut in the butter until the mixture has a crumbly texture. Whisk together the egg and half-and-half in a separate bowl; stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until combined; stir in the pear. Drop large spoonfuls of the dough onto an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes; rest briefly on a cooling rack before serving.