These may seem a little “off piste”, but the flavour and texture are really good and they certainly have an “edge” even though they’re not mega hot. You could easily ramp up the heat with a few more chillies if that’s your fancy.

Makes: 9 – 10

Time: Around 40 – 45 minutes or a bit less if you exclude such chores as grating the cheese and cutting the chillies.

Level: Easy

Equipment: 2 baking trays; a 6cm round cutter

Ingredients:

450g/16oz self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
100g/3½oz cold butter, cubed
2 -3 chillies, cut small (seeds in = hot; seeds out = not so hot. Your choice)
200g – 225g (7oz – 8oz) strong hard cheese, grated (I like a mixture of Cheddar and Red Leicester)
250ml/9fl oz milk or buttermilk + a little in reserve if needed and some to brush the scones

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C / fan 200°C / 425°F / Gas 7. Line the baking trays with parchment paper.

2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter.

3. Mix in most of the chilli pieces and the cheese. Reserve some to top the scones.

4. Add the buttermilk and mix to make a soft dough.

5. Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead it briefly and lightly then roll or flatten by hand to a roundish shape about 3cm thick.

6. Cut out the scones. (Flour the cutter each time and don’t twist it when cutting.)

7. Brush some spare milk or buttermilk over the top of each scone and add a little of the reserved cheese and chillies to each one. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes.

(I actually baked them for 6 minutes then added the cheese & chives and swapped the trays/shelves round before baking for a further 7 minutes. This way I get a more even bake and the cheese isn’t overcooked and crunchy. It’s worth doing, but you have to move quickly.)

8. Once baked, leave on the trays for 5 minutes then place on a wire rack to cool fully.

I hope you enjoy baking and eating these scones. For more scone recipes click here. If you’d like to make a comment or ask a question please do, via the contact page, or have a look at the rest of my site for lots of other great sweet and savoury recipes.

Here are some more of my bakes that you might like to try:

Orange and Blueberry Blondies.