These savory cheese and chive scones are a great side to soup or spread with spicy butter for breakfast or brunch. Quick and easy to make, featuring cheddar cheese, cayenne powder, and chives or green onions.
These slightly spicy chive and cheese scones are the perfect breakfast, brunch, or afternoon snack option.
With sharp cheddar cheese, a spicy kick from the cayenne powder, and mild flavor from the chives or green onions, these savory scones are my favorite thing right now.
This recipe is easy to mix and made with pretty simple ingredients. Check my tips below for achieving soft and fluffy scones.
If you love scones, try Earl Grey Scones or pumpkin scones next.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact amounts.
- butter: use unsalted butter or cut the salt in the recipe to 1/2 teaspoon. Freeze it the night before for easier mixing!
- flour: measure your all-purpose flour with a kitchen scale for the most accurate measurement
- baking powder and baking soda: leavening for fluffy scones.
- cheese: I use white cheddar or smoked white cheddar in this recipe. I like sharp cheddar cheese but you can use medium or milk if you prefer it.
- chives: use chives or green onions, whatever you have available. I use fresh chives or dried whatever I have on hand.
- cayenne and black pepper: for a bit of heat of seasoning. Feel free to omit the cayenne powder if you want to.
- milk: I make buttermilk with plant milk by adding a tablespoon of vinegar to a one-cup measure and then filling it with plant milk and letting it sit for 5 minutes.
Substitutions
- cheese: use orange cheddar instead.
- milk: Use regular buttermilk or make it cow’s milk instead if you prefer.
TIP: Freeze butter for scones and then grate it into the flour mixture. This helps prevent overmixing for truly soft and fluffy scones!
Instructions
Prep Tips
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. This is the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, black pepper, and cayenne powder.
- Grate the chilled butter using a box grater into the mixing bowl and mix gently to cover the butter in the flour.
Alternatively, add cold butter in small pieces and cut in with two knives or a pastry cutter until you have floured butter the size of peas.
Add the cheese and chopped chives and mix.
- Add most of the milk and mix, adding the rest as needed. The dough will come together in a ball. It shouldn’t be sticky.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press the dough into a circle about 8 inches wide.
Cut the scone dough into 6 wedges using a bench scraper or sharp knife.
- Place scones on the lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with milk. Alternatively, you could use an egg wash.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden brown.
Let them cool on a wire rack before serving.
Tips for making soft scones
What to serve with cheesy scones
I love cheddar scones simply with butter on top. On the day I took photos of this recipe I mixed butter with some fresh chopped green onion and cayenne powder.
You could also make flavored butter like the lemon and thyme butter in these buttermilk biscuits.
Storage
Store leftovers scones in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for about 3 days.
FAQs
Yes, you can use dried chives, but reduce the amount by half. Use 2 tablespoons of fresh chives or green onions and only 1 tablespoon of dried chives or green onions.
Chees & Chive Scones
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon granulated white sugar
- ¾ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cold
- ¾ cups grated cheddar cheese
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives or green onions, or 1 tablespoon dried
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Mix the dry ingredients: Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, pepper, and cayenne to a large bowl and mix well.
- Grate in the cold butter and mix so it’s all covered in flour.
- Add the cheese and chives. Mix.
- Add milk, starting with half of the amount, and mix with a fork or your hands until it comes together in a ball. It shouldn’t be sticky, should just come together. Don’t over-mix. Add more flour, a little at a time if you need to.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured counter and flatten with your hand into about an 8-inch circle. It should be about an inch thick.
- Cut it like a pizza or pie, into 6 wedges.
- Place the wedges on the prepared baking sheet, and brush with a bit of milk to help browning.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
Video
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used. Read our full Nutrition Disclaimer.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
This post was originally posted on April 13, 2017.
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A photo from the original post, using half spelt flour.
