British Cheese Scones
Savoury cheese version of my popular British scones. Includes all the tips for a perfect rise to the scones that are perfect with your afternoon tea or as a savoury 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
- 2 Baking Trays/Baking Sheets
- Round Cookie Cutter (5-6cm or 2-2⅓″, mine is 5¾cm or 2¼")
- Small bowl/dish
- Pastry brush or clean artist brush
- 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, optiona*)
- ½ - ¾ tsp Smoked Paprika (Not spicy kind*)
- 100 grams Mature (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 ⅔ stick or ⅓ cup)
- 2 Med-Large Eggs (US - Large or Extra Large)
- 240 ml Milk or ButtermiIk (1 cup, 8 fl oz) - approx.*)
* Denotes -see notes
Instructions
Prepare Air Fryer
- Cube the butter to 1cm (⅓") size to soften quick or try this hack I reviewed for softening butter in about 12 minutes.
- Prepare your baking trays/baking sheets by paper lining with baking paper/parchment.
Prepare The Dough
- Add 450 grams Self-raising Flour , to a large mixing bowl and whisk in 2 tsp Baking Powder (rounded), ½ tsp Salt, 2 - 3 tsp Mustard Powder, 1 tsp Powdered Garlic & ½ - ¾ tsp Smoked Paprika. **If using Plain or All Purpose flour, please remember to add 5½ level tsp baking powder, in addition to the 2 tsp above.**
- Add 75 grams Butter to dry mixture, mix through briefly & 'Cut the butter' into the flour using a Pastry Cutter (Pastry Blender), until mixture resembles large breadcrumbs. Alternatively use 2 butter knives, or rub between your fingertips. (See in action, watch the air fryer video below). Then add in the 50 grams Caster Sugar and mix through.
- Add 2 Med-Large Eggs to a jug, whisk together, & add in only enough of the 240 ml Milk or ButtermiIk, to come to 300ml (10 fl oz) mark. Whisk together and reserve 2 tbsp of the mixture in a small bowl for later.
- Make a reservoir in the dry mixture, add ⅓ of the wet mixture & start to mix together with a spoon or spatula. Gradually add 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 & get your hands in there to make sure there are no dry patches at the bottom of the bowl. Use your knuckles to spread out the dough a little, & add in half of the 100 grams Mature (or Extra Mature) Cheddar Cheese and briefly knead into the dough. Repeat with the rest of the cheese pieces, 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 & use your hands to gently pat the dough out to a depth of at least 1" (2⅓cm). Do not use a rolling pin.
- Dip the cookie cutter in flour & cut out as many scones as you can get. ** DO NOT TWIST THE COOKIE CUTTER! ** This is very important for a good rise. Pull away excess dough, then transfer the scone to prepared paper lined baking tray/baking sheet. Any that stick in the cutter, carefully shake and let it fall onto the paper itself. **Try not to touch the sides of the scone if possible.**
- Pull back the excess dough & gently bring 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).
- Next, very carefully brush reserved egg/milk mixture, on 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 @ 220°c/200°c Fan Oven/425°f/Gas Mark 6 for about 12 - 15 minutes. After 8 minutes of baking, add 1 tsp worth of the 30 grams Grated/Shredded Mature Cheddar Cheese, to the top of the scones & continue baking for another 4 - 7 minutes till risen, set and golden.
- Remove from the oven and leave for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Serving, Storing & Freezing
- Serve the scones in halves with butter. Learn how to make homemade butter & buttermilk
- 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.
Notes
Flour - UK self-raising & Plain (All Purpose Flour) 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".
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.
Check out the Cheese Scones In An Air fryer recipe, or my Original British Scones recipe (photo above), the Cranberry Spiced Scones recipe, or my Double chocolate orange Scones version. Kids can try my simple Tear-&-Share Cheese Scones, with no need to cut out the dough. New for 2025, air fryer lemon blueberry scones. New for 2026, Gluten-free AIr Fryer Scones.
**Total Time to make - based on making 12 scones in one batch in a regular oven over 2 levels.
Browse Recipe Index
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".
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.
Check out the Cheese Scones In An Air fryer recipe, or my Original British Scones recipe (photo above), the Cranberry Spiced Scones recipe, or my Double chocolate orange Scones version. Kids can try my simple Tear-&-Share Cheese Scones, with no need to cut out the dough. New for 2025, air fryer lemon blueberry scones. New for 2026, Gluten-free AIr Fryer Scones.
**Total Time to make - based on making 12 scones in one batch in a regular oven over 2 levels.
Browse Recipe Index
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 Whisk.com.
Nutrition Facts
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.