Air Fryer British Cheese Scones
Savoury cheese version of my popular British scones & made in the air fryer! Includes all the tips for a perfect rise to the scones that are perfect with your afternoon tea or as a snack.
Equipment
- Scales or measuring cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Mixing spoon
- Jug
- Large mixing bowl
- Pastry Cutter/Pastry Blender (optional - or 2 butter knives, or fingers)
- Whisk or fork
- Baking/parchment paper
- Round Cookie Cutter (5-6cm or 2-2⅓″, mine is 5¾cm or 2¼")
- Small bowl/dish
- Pastry brush or clean artist brush
- Air Fryer
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 450 grams Self-raising Flour OR 15 ¾oz , 3⅔ cups All Purpose/Plain Flour PLUS 5½ (level tsp Baking powder *)
- 2 tsp Baking Powder rounded (In addition to that above if using Plain/A.P. flour*)
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Powdered Garlic I used Aldi Garlic & Herb Seasoning mix*
- 2 – 3 tsp Mustard Powder found in condiments aisle, optional*
- ½ – ¾ tsp Smoked Paprika Not spicy*
- 100 grams Mature Cheese (cubed) or Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese (3½ oz Extra/Sharp Cheddar, about 7mm (⅓") small cubes *)
- 30 grams Grated/Shredded Mature Cheddar Cheese 1 oz, for on top, optional
Wet Ingredients
- 50 grams Caster Sugar 1¾ oz, level ¼ cup Extra/Super Fine Sugar*
- 75 grams Butter unsalted, cubed & a little softened, 2½ oz or level 2/3 stick or ⅓ cup
- 2 Med-Large Eggs US – Large or Extra Large
- 240 ml Milk or Buttermilk 1 cup, 8 fl oz – approx.*)
* Denotes -see notes
Instructions
Prepare Air Fryer
- Cube the 75 grams Butter about 1cm (⅓") size to soften quicker or try this hack I reviewed for softening butter.
- Before preparing the scone dough, use your cookie cutter to see how many scones you can bake at one time in your own particular air fryer. **Do not bake over 2 levels if you have a basket style air fryer**.
- Cut a square of baking/parchment large enough to fit the number of scones, but not too big that it touches the sides of the air fryer. Cut 2 or 3 more for the rest of the batch.
Prepare The Dough
- Add 450 grams Self-raising Flour, to a mixing bowl before whisking in 2 tsp Baking Powder, ½ tsp Salt, 1 tsp Powdered Garlic, 2 – 3 tsp Mustard Powder & ½ – ¾ tsp Smoked Paprika. **If using Plain/All Purpose flour, please also remember to add 5½ level tsp baking powder, in addition to the 2 tsp mentioned above.**
- Add the 75 grams Butter to the dry mixture and mix through briefly before you 'Cut the butter' into the flour using a Pastry Cutter (also known as a Pastry Blender) until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs. Alternatively use 2 butter knives, or rub between your fingertips. (To see in action, watch the video below). Then add in the 50 grams Caster Sugar and mix through.
- Add the 2 Med-Large Eggs to a jug and whisk together, before adding in enough of the 240 ml Milk or Buttermilk, to come to the 300ml (10 fl oz) level. Whisk together and then reserve 2 tbsp of the mixture in a small bowl for later.
- Make a reservoir in the centre of the dry mixture & add about a ⅓ of the wet mixture before starting to mix together with a spoon or spatula. Gradually add in small amounts of the wet mixture until it starts to come together into a slightly sticky dough. **Please note you might not need all of the wet mixture or need a touch more (in which case just add milk).** Use the video as a reference point to get your hands in there and make sure there is no dry patches at the bottom of the bowl.
- Use your knuckles to spread out the dough a little, before adding in half of the 100 grams Mature Cheese (cubed), and very briefly knead into the dough. Then repeat with the rest of the cheese pieces and form into a ball then a disc shape. DO NOT USE A FOOD PROCESSOR OR MIXER.
- Lightly dust baking/parchment paper or a clean worktop/counter before placing the disc of dough down and use your hands to gently pat the dough out until a depth of at least 1" (2⅓cm). Do not use a rolling pin.
- Dip the cookie cutter in a small bowl of flour before cutting out as many scones as you can get. ** DO NOT TWIST THE COOKIE CUTTER! ** This is very important for a good rise. Pull away the excess dough and then transfer the scone to the paper lined air fryer. Any that stick in the cutter, just carefully shake and let it fall onto the paper itself. **Try not to touch the sides of the scone if possible.** Excess scones can be placed on spare paper while the first batch are baked.
- Once there are enough in the air fryer, very carefully brush some of the reserved egg/milk mixture, onto the tops of the scones only. DO NOT LET ANY DRIP DOWN THE SIDES – shake the brush, then start brushing from the centre of the top of the scone and work your way out to avoid drips.
Bake The Scones
- Bake your first batch of scones in the air fryer @ 200°c/400°f for a total of about 12 minutes. (Preheat the air fryer if your machine recommends this). After 7 minutes of cooking, add about 1 tsp worth of the 30 grams Grated/Shredded Mature Cheddar Cheese, to the top of the scones (being careful not to push down too hard). Continue baking for another 2 minutes.
- At this 9-minute mark, turn the scones over & if the bottoms are soft and pale, brush on some more egg-wash and continue baking for a further 3-5 minutes till fully cooked and golden. (Note some air fryers might not require this step but most basket air fryers will). For regular ovens use temperature of 220°c/200°c Fan Oven/425°f/Gas Mark 6, or go to the regular cheese scones recipe.
- While the first batch are baking, gently bring the excess dough together as best you can with minimal handling & no rolling out. Just pat out to at least 1" (2½ cm) deep. Cut out more scones & repeat till all the dough is used. (Yield 11-12 scones). Transfer these carefully to prepared small sheets of paper, brushing on egg-wash.
- When the first scones are baked, transfer to a cooling rack & continue baking the next batch.
Serving, Storing & Freezing
- Serve the scones cut in half and top with butter. Try some homemade butter.
- Left-over scones should be stored in an air-tight container such as a cake or cookie tin. Store with the paper you used to bake them & they will last a minimum of 3 days.
- Freeze scones wrapped in baking/parchment paper or cling film/plastic wrap & then in a labelled food bag. These scones are fine for up to 3 months1. Defrost at room temperature or in the fridge overnight. Once defrosted, to enjoy warm simply cut in half & microwave for no more than 20-30 seconds. Alternatively, place a whole scone in the air fryer @170°c/325°f for 1-3 minutes, being careful not to dry it out.
Video
Notes
Flour – UK self-raising & Plain (All Purpose Flour) have all been used & tested. ***IMPORTANT – If using Plain/A.P. flour, please make sure to add the 2 amounts of baking powder.***
Gluten free flour Self-raising or Plain/A.P. flour with Xanthan gum also works well.
Sugar – Caster sugar (equivalent being Extra/super fine sugar) is used & a small amount. So very easy to make your own from granulated sugar.
Seasonings – mustard powder is found with the mustard in larger supermarkets. Smoked paprika (non-spicy) is also used & helps colour the scones. No mustard powder? Increase the smoked paprika amount. Garlic powder/granules is used, but Aldi Garlic & Herb Seasoning mix is used in these photos & is a blend of garlic & rosemary.
Milk – regular milk works for scones, as does lactose-free & goat’s milk. Buttermilk works great too. Read my Homemade Buttermilk & Butter recipe.
Cheese – extra/mature cheese (extra/sharp cheddar) is used. Small pieces in the scone dough and a little grated/shredded on top of the scones, part-way through baking.
Cookie Cutter – try to use a cookie cutter that is straight edged, and with a diameter of 5 to 6cm or 2 to 2⅓″. My cutter is 5¾cm or 2¼”.
Air Fryer – my air fryer is small so takes 4 scones at a time. **Read my cello double air fryer review.
Yield – using the same cutter & thickness, you should get about 12 scones from the recipe.
For all other information & scone tips, please refer to the complete recipe post before this recipe card & my Scone video tutorial that is nearly real-time.
Kids can try my simple Tear-&-Share Cheese Scones, with no need to cut out the dough.
Check out my Original British Scones recipe (photo above), the Mango Cranberry Scones recipe, my Double chocolate orange Scones version or new for 2025, Lemon Blueberry Scones, all in the air fryer.
**Total Time to make – based on making 3 batches of 4 scones, for 12 minutes each in a basket-style air fryer. If your air fryer is larger, and can bake more than 4 scones at one time, total time would be reduced.
Browse Recipe Index
Try my beginner's recipe - Tear-&-Share Cheese Scones for an easier recipe.
Reference – 1 Freezing information from website Freeze It.co.uk @ https://freezeit.co.uk/can-you-freeze-scones/
Seasonings – mustard powder is found with the mustard in larger supermarkets. Smoked paprika (non-spicy) is also used & helps colour the scones. No mustard powder? Increase the smoked paprika amount. Garlic powder/granules is used, but Aldi Garlic & Herb Seasoning mix is used in these photos & is a blend of garlic & rosemary.
Milk – regular milk works for scones, as does lactose-free & goat’s milk. Buttermilk works great too. Read my Homemade Buttermilk & Butter recipe.
Cheese – extra/mature cheese (extra/sharp cheddar) is used. Small pieces in the scone dough and a little grated/shredded on top of the scones, part-way through baking.
Cookie Cutter – try to use a cookie cutter that is straight edged, and with a diameter of 5 to 6cm or 2 to 2⅓″. My cutter is 5¾cm or 2¼”.
Air Fryer – my air fryer is small so takes 4 scones at a time. **Read my cello double air fryer review.
Yield – using the same cutter & thickness, you should get about 12 scones from the recipe.
For all other information & scone tips, please refer to the complete recipe post before this recipe card & my Scone video tutorial that is nearly real-time.
Kids can try my simple Tear-&-Share Cheese Scones, with no need to cut out the dough.
Check out my Original British Scones recipe (photo above), the Mango Cranberry Scones recipe, my Double chocolate orange Scones version or new for 2025, Lemon Blueberry Scones, all in the air fryer.
**Total Time to make – based on making 3 batches of 4 scones, for 12 minutes each in a basket-style air fryer. If your air fryer is larger, and can bake more than 4 scones at one time, total time would be reduced.
Browse Recipe Index
Try my beginner's recipe - Tear-&-Share Cheese Scones for an easier recipe.
Reference – 1 Freezing information from website Freeze It.co.uk @ https://freezeit.co.uk/can-you-freeze-scones/
***I am not a qualified nutritionist, & all nutritional values are based on a serving of 1 cheese scone (from a batch of 12 as per recipe above), with no fillings/toppings. Bigger or smaller scones & the nutritional values will change. All values from MyFitnessPal.com
Nutrition Facts
Air Fryer British Cheese Scones
Serving Size
1 Scone
Amount per Serving
Calories
269
% Daily Value*
Fat
11
g
17
%
Saturated Fat
6
g
38
%
Monounsaturated Fat
2
g
Cholesterol
43
mg
14
%
Sodium
238
mg
10
%
Potassium
42
mg
1
%
Carbohydrates
36
g
12
%
Sugar
5
g
6
%
Protein
8
g
16
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.