Scones are most well known for being sweet or topped with butter jam or cream. Scones are a very versatile snack because they can be sweet or savoury, this is a savoury version. Some people would even call them a biscuit. Whatever you call them they are quick and easy to make, delicious and are a balanced, sugar free snack.
Ingredients
- 8oz all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ oz butter cold
- ¼ pint of milk
- 1 cup of grated cheese
- ¾ frozen chopped spinach
- 2-3 slices of ham chopped (or sliced in strips)
- 1 small onion or ½ a large onion
- parsley and chives chopped
- extra flour for dusting
- preheat your oven to approximately 400oF or 200oC
- put a sheet of baking paper on your oven tray
- bring approximately 1 inch of water to boil in a small pan
- dice your onion quite finely (or slice) and add to the boiling water
- sift flour into a mixing bowl and add the baking powder
- chop your butter in small cubes and rub it into the flour mix with your fingers until the mix resembles bread crumbs
- add your milk, a third at a time, mixing well with a fork or a round bladed knife in between additions, your dough will be quite sticky
- by now your onions should be soft, add your frozen spinach to the onions to defrost it, when the spinach is defrosted (about a minute) drain the excess water off
- take a good spoonful of the spinach and add it to your dough with a third of the cheese and your herbs
- flour your hands and your board or work surface well
- work the cheese and spinach and herbs into your dough, you don't actually need to knead it, just make sure it is more or less blended
- the mix will be a soft dough not too sticky on the outside
- roll the mix into a rectangle about ½ an inch thick, making sure it is not sticking to your work surface
- spread the remaining spinach and onion mix, the chopped ham and another third of the grated cheese over the dough
- roll the dough around the filling carefully starting from the long edge of the rectangle
- cut into 1 ½ inch slices and place each slice on a baking tray so the spiral part is on the top
- top each slice with a sprinkle of the remaining cheese and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden on top
- you can use the cheese of your choice, I generally use cheddar as my husband is a big fan. However feel free to experiment, or use the cheese your kids like most, as long as it is a good melting cheese
- you can replace the ham with bacon, if you do sauté the chopped onions with the bacon in a small fry pan, then you won't need to boil the onions. If you do this you may choose to defrost the spinach in the microwave
- you can use a food processor to mix the scone mix, I find it is quicker and less washing up to do it by hand, but it works the same
- add salt and pepper to taste in this recipe, I think the ham or bacon and the cheese has enough salt, but most people think savoury scones could use salt
- I have made a gluten free variety of this with garbanzo flour
Depending on the age of your kids they will love helping you make this, my children are still quite young, so I usually make the dough first and involve them at the 'kneading' and rolling stage – remember scones are different from bread and don't require kneading, so it is a good chance to show the kids a more gentle touch to food. Don't worry too much about the neatness of the spirals if your kids are helping – it will all taste the same and the cheese on top helps hide any messy bits.
