Savory Ham and Cheese Scones

Ham – Most any leftover ham will work fine here if you’re making these scones from leftovers. A thicker cut, about a ¼” or so, works best to cut into bite-sized pieces. If you don’t have ham, those single portion ham steaks work perfectly here too.

Cheese – You can use almost any soft, melty cheese here. I suggest buying and shredding it yourself for the best flavor and texture. I use sharp cheddar here because a stronger flavored cheese shines through more than subtle ones.

Chives – I like the addition of chives here for their earthy, herbal flavor that adds to the savoriness of these scones. You can omit them if you like or use green onion instead.

Flour – All-purpose flour works fine here.

Leavening – All you need here is baking powder for the rise.

Sugar – While sweeter scone recipes use a decent amount of sugar, these savory scones call for just a small amount. You could probably omit it altogether if you like, but I find just 2 teaspoons balances the flavor and helps keep the scone tender.

Seasoning – The only seasoning I include is some salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder. I find the addition of black pepper and garlic powder helps add a bit of flavor and enhances the savory flavor of these scones over their sweeter versions.

Dairy – I make these savory scones using heavy cream. I find it adds nice richness to the dough and enough fat to keep the scones tender. Buttermilk is also commonly used for the same reasons with an added tang. You could also use half-and-half or whole milk. If you all you have on-hand is 1-2% milk, that should work, but the scones won’t have as rich a flavor. I also use a ½ cup of unsalted butter, which I recommend freezing and shredding into the dough.

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, sugar, and seasonings. Whisk together and set aside. Remove the butter from the freezer and finely shred it directly into the flour mixture. From here you can use a pastry blender or your hands and fully incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients.

Add the ham, cheese, and chives and give everything a quick mix so that the ingredients are well distributed.

Once mixed, add in the cold heavy cream a bit at a time and mix between each addition. The dough will be very shaggy and seem a bit dry at this point, but don’t worry about that. Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough out onto the counter.

Gently press the dough together into a ball and flatten into a thick disc about 8” across. At this point it should start coming together into a proper dough.

Slice the disc into 8 wedges, like cutting a pizza and place the scones onto a parchment lined baking sheet. From here, I recommend placing them in the refrigerator while the oven heats, or you can bake immediately.

Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C. Once heated, remove the scones from the fridge (if you did this step) and brush the tops with a bit of heavy cream. Place the scones into the middle of the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes. They should be a nice golden brown when done.

Once baked, allow them to cool for a few minutes on the pan, then you can transfer them to a cooling rack or enjoy immediately.

Egg – This is down to personal preference. Some scone recipes will use an egg and others do not. I’ve made them both ways and both are great. Divide an egg and whisk the yolk into the heavy cream and add it like normal. Right before baking, whisk the egg white with a bit of heavy cream or water and brush the tops. The added egg yolk makes the dough slightly richer and the crumb a little more tender.

Cheese – I like a good, sharp (yellow or white) cheddar here because the flavor is stronger, but you can use other cheeses as well. A nicely smoked gouda or provolone works well, or a pepper Jack for a bit of a kick. Other good options include provolone, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Colby, and mozzarella, but the flavor will be more subtle.

No Ham – If you don’t have or want to use ham, other great options include bacon, breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, or smoked sausages. If you use one of these options, however, you’ll need to cook them and dice them before using them.

Rotary Cheese Grater – While box graters and other horizontal style graters work fine for cheese, I highly recommend a rotary cheese grater. These can grate an entire block of cheese in seconds and make grating butter so much easier. Grating butter on a box grater typically ends up with greasy hands and getting that last bit shredded is very difficult.

Pastry Blender – This tool is quite handy for blending enriched doughs and pie crusts when you need to cut butter into flour. Sometimes a food processor works nicely, but a pastry blender is a fraction of the price and take up a lot less space.

Bench Scraper – These handy tools have lots of uses, including cleaning your work surface after working with doughs. Use a bench scraper to cut the disc into even wedges and scrape off your counter afterwards. Sometimes I also recommend a pizza cutter for this, but the scone dough is a little thick for most of them.

Once cooled completely, you can store these savory ham and cheese scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you’re at all concerned about the ham inside them being stored at room temperature, just keep them in the refrigerator instead.

To reheat, you can microwave 1-2 at a time for about 30 seconds, but they will be soft. If you want to get that crispy outside again, I suggest baking at 350°F for 5-10 minutes.

These savory scones also freeze well, before or after baking. If freezing before baking, skip brushing the tops with milk and place on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for about an hour. Once frozen, remove from the baking sheet and place it in a freezer-safe bag and freeze up to 3 months. You can bake from frozen as directed and add a few minutes, or thaw overnight in the fridge first.

If freezing after baking, wait until cooled completely and place leftovers in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat as described above.