Does anyone really need another scone recipe? Yes. Always. Especially this one made with buttery, nutty Gruyère (a queen among cheeses), toasted walnuts, and pep from a generous amount of black pepper. The little bits of cheese that melt out of the scones as they bake turn gorgeously crispy.
These scones
are best served warm, the day they’re made, and they go deliciously with a bowl
of soup or savory roasted vegetables. They also reheat beautifully and would make
a nice change of pace with a cup of coffee or tea.
You’ll find a
free, downloadable, printable pdf of the recipe below the cooking directions.
Gruyère and Black Pepper Scones
Adapted from
Yossy Arefi in The New York Times
Ingredients
2 cups
all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon
baking powder
2 teaspoons black
pepper (freshly ground if possible)
1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
8 tablespoons
unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 1/2 ounces Gruyère
cheese (I used the slightly less expensive Gruyère de Comté) cut into 1/4-inch
pieces
3/4 cup
toasted walnuts, chopped
1 cup cold
buttermilk, plus more as needed
Optional:
2 teaspoons chopped
fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, or chives
Flaky salt
for sprinkling
Directions
Preheat the
oven to 400 degrees F, with a rack in the center.
Toast the
walnuts on a baking sheet for 5-10 minutes until they’re golden and fragrant, while
the oven heats. You can also toast them in a skillet on the stove. If you toast
them in the oven, transfer them to a bowl when they’re done, let the baking
sheet cool, then line the sheet with parchment paper.
In a large
bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, black pepper, and salt. Add the butter,
tossing the cubes to coat them in the flour mixture.
Using a
pastry blender or your fingers, work the butter cubes into the flour mixture
until you have pieces of butter that are pea-sized and smaller. Add the cheese,
walnuts, and herbs (if using). Toss to combine.
Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the buttermilk. Gently stir until the buttermilk and flour mixture are just combined and still shaggy. Try not to overmix. If the mixture seems very dry, add another tablespoon or two of buttermilk. If it seems very wet, add a tablespoon or two of flour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle. Fold the rectangle in half, then shape it into an 8-inch circle. Cut the circle into 8 equal wedges.
At this point the scones are fragile. Carefully
transfer them to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush their tops with a bit of
buttermilk. Sprinkle them with flaky salt and more pepper.
Bake the
scones until golden brown, roughly 20 minutes. Serve them warm.
If you have
leftovers, they’ll keep for a day or two on the counter in an airtight
container or in the refrigerator. They also freeze well. Warm leftovers before
serving.
click
here for a free, downloadable, printable pdf of this recipe
Out now!
All Shell Breaks Loose
Book 3 in the Haunted Shell Shop
Mysteries!
On North
Carolina’s Ocracoke Island, Maureen Nash sells exquisite seashells to locals
and tourists—with Bonny the shop cat and the ghost of a Welsh pirate for
company. And when needed, she steps in to help the police solve a murder . . .
Dr. Irving
Allred is boasting around town that he’s about to get his hands on an authentic
haunted sword. But minutes after Maureen hears the story, a woman walks into
the Moon Shell, sword in hand. She found it while walking her bulldog on the
beach—and its blade is stained with what looks like blood. Looks like it’s time
to call the sheriff’s department.
Allred is
furious that his prize is now in police custody—and even more agitated that an
unknown buyer was trying to outbid him. He’s convinced the sword will lead him
straight to the ghosts he’s been hunting. He’s not the only one on the Outer
Banks who’s been searching for spirits, though. An odd visitor also showed up
at Maureen’s shop claiming the ability to sense them . . . though somehow she
didn’t seem to notice Maureen’s spectral friend hanging about.
When a man
who’d been camping nearby is found cut down along the shore, Maureen starts
providing some unofficial assistance to Captain Rob Tate by digging into the
island’s maritime history. But it’s not the only mystery she’s facing—because
the shop’s resident ghost is seeing ghosts himself . . .
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Happy reading!
The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries, and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.
