Asiago and Onion Scones

A weekend favourite! If you’ve been wanting to get into baking, but feel intimidated by the process, scones are the perfect place to start. While they do involve some technique, they’re surprisingly easy and relatively quick. This is an amalgamation of recipes and tricks that I’ve learned over time, all brought together into one very simple and easy to follow method.

The most important advice I can give when it comes to making scones, is to avoid letting the butter get too warm. If by the time your scones hit the oven, the butter has softened too much, the scones will become runny and flat before they’ve had a chance to bake. Freezing and grating your butter is a good way to make sure it’s added to the dry ingredients in a very cold state. Plus, you can always toss the mixture into the refrigerator or freezer if you’re worried it’s getting too warm.

Another important point is that the dough should remain fairly dry, but wet enough to hold together. This will make for a flakier final product, and help keep the scones from spreading. And since different techniques of measuring flour can result in fairly significant discrepancies, I like to add the cream in stages and focus on the overall consistency of the dough. Not to mention, if you decide to substitute the add-ins with a wetter ingredient, like berries, you’ll likely need slightly less cream than the full recommendation of this recipe… which leads to my final point.

The beauty of scone recipes is that you can pretty much substitute whatever add-ins you like, sweet or savoury. The more you make them and get to know the feel of the dough, the easier it will be to adjust to the flavour that suits your mood! And if you’re looking for a sweet fix, instead of this savoury suggestion, sprinkling the cream-brushed scones with a little bit of sugar before they bake will give them a lovely finished texture.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Asiago and Onion Scones

My go-to scone recipe! Easy, quick, and filled with tips to guarantee the perfect savoury treat.

Course Baking, Breakfast, Snack

Keyword Asiago, Asiago and Onion Scones, Baking, Onion, Savoury, Scones

Servings 8 Scones

Author Alexandra Joy

Ingredients

• 1 Small Onion, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
• 1 Cup Asiago Cheese, grated
• 2 Cups All Purpose Flour, plus some for dusting
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 3 Tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, frozen
• 3/4 Cup Whipping Cream, plus more as needed

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
• In a skillet over medium, heat 1/2 tbsp of olive oil, and half a tbsp of butter. Once the butter is bubbling, add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent (2-3 minutes). Lower the heat and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are a light golden hue. Transfer to a paper-towel or linen lined plate and allow to cool.
• In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
• Remove the butter from the freezer. Using a box grater (or standard cheese grater), shred the butter. Add the butter to the bowl and, using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter into the dry ingredients. The final product should be quite dry, with small chunks of butter scattered throughout.
• At this point, I like to put the mixture into the freezer for a few minutes, to ensure the butter remains cold. This step is optional, but recommended.
• Start by adding 1/2 a cup of the whipping cream to the dry ingredients. Mix together with a spatula until well combined, breaking it up with your hands if necessary. At this point, the dough should be quite dry and likely won't quite hold together if you try to press it into a ball. If this is the case, continue to add the remaining 1/4 cup of cream, as needed. Once the dough just holds together, but remains a bit dry, carefully mix in the cheese and onions.
• Pour the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and bring it together in one mass, pressing it together firmly and warming it ever so slightly with your hands, in order to help it hold. Then, flatten the dough into a fairly even 1" thick disk.
• Cutting the disk like a pie, divide into 8 slices before transferring each piece onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Space the scones out as much as possible (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart). You'll want to move quickly, to keep the dough from warming. If the scones no longer feel cool to the touch, pop them in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Otherwise, brush the tops of each scone with some of the cream, and bake in the oven for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Serve with butter and enjoy!