Wow, it’s September! How did that happen? I love summer, and I’m always sad to see it go, except for the snakes and it’s a relief to see them go back into hibernation or whatever they do when it gets cold! A real plus to fall is the yummy food that it ushers in. That will soften the blow of having cooler weather for me. My relationship with fall is a bit complicated because I love the fresh, crispness of the air, but the impending cold weather of winter is always lurking in my mind! In New Mexico where I live, September means apples and Hatch green chile. There’s just something about food made with apples that can make me happy as fall gets closer. Fresh Apple and Cheese Scones are baked with bits of fresh apple and cheese, and a touch of crunchy sunflower seeds. So, with that in mind, I say welcome fall!
Perfect for tea time or breakfast!
On occasion, some yummy creations come from a bit of a goof made while cooking. Well, in my kitchen it happens that way! I wanted to make apple scones, and I had some snack sized apple sauce left from when my grandkids were visiting and decided I would just use them up. Last time I checked, four ounces equals half a cup (math is NOT my strong point) which was the amount I was aiming for, but I dumped two applesauce packages in making eight ounces instead of four into the mix…oops! That created a stickier dough than usual but ended up baking into light, moist scones. I just sprinkled a little more flour than usual onto the counter and formed these into two disk shapes that were easy to cut. My cast iron scone pan is great and I love that I can make wonderful scones easily whenever I want to, but if you don’t have a scone pan just bake them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Scones are so easy!
Baked happiness!
I used gouda cheese in this batch and topped the scones off with sunflower seeds and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. They are wonderful on their own, but if you want to smear a little apple butter on them that tastes delish, too. I am an herbal tea drinker, and I enjoyed mine with apple spice tea. Wouldn’t these make a great addition to your tea party or brunch? If you feel like sharing that is! Not to worry though, this recipe makes 16 lovely scones!
Apple bits, cheese, and sunflower seeds!
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 6 Tablespoons colt butter; cut into 3-4 pieces
- 1 medium apple; peeled and shredded or chopped very fine
- 1 tsp. lemon juice; to sprinkle over shredded apple
- 1 cup applesauce
- 4 oz. cheese; shredded or cut into very small cubes (I like to use white cheddar or gouda)
- 1/2 cup half and half (or whole milk)
- 2 eggs; divided ( you will use one egg to brush on top of scones)
- sugar and cinnamon mix for sprinkling on top of scones; optional
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine both types of flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- Whisk the dry mixture well.
- Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course crumbs. Don't over do this!
- In a medium bowl, combine half and half, applesauce, fresh apple and one egg.
- Add to flour mixture, stirring until evenly moist.
- Dough will be a bit more sticky than it usually is for scones. This is fine, just sprinkle some flour onto a smooth surface and divide into two equal parts. (This will resemble soft biscuit dough)
- Gently make a 6-7" disk shape of each section of dough.
- Carefully cut each disk into eight equal parts and place into scones pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray. *see notes below to bake without a scone pan.
- Beat the remaining egg and brush a bit on top of each scone, then sprinkle on some sunflower seeds and a bit of cinnamon sugar.
- Bake until scones are slightly golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 15-18 minutes.
- Enjoy!
- *If you don't have a scone pan just line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the scone disk on there and cut into eight parts that gently tough and bake as directed above.
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