Vegan cheese scones are packed with savoury cheesy flavours and are delightfully light, crumbly, and with slightly crispy edges.These wee British scones are perfect for breakfast, brunch, snacks, picnics, pack lunches, food on-the-go, or buffets/pot-lucks.
Small cookie/biscuit cutter about 2 inch [5 cm] wide
Ingredients
225gramplain flourall-purpose flour, [sifted]
1tablespoonbaking powderuse a knife to level the top of the spoon to avoid too much baking powder, [sifted]
½teaspoonsalt
¼teaspoonmustard powdersuch as Coleman's
60gramvegan margarineor vegan butter [not the lite versions]
120gramvegan cheese[use a strong flavoured one, such as Asda Free From Grated Mozzarella Alternative] plus a little extra for the top of each scone
200millilitrevegan milkmay require more or less
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 Fan/ 220 C/ 428 F/ Gas 7.
Prepare a baking tray with a sheet of greaseproof/baking paper or grease with a little margarine and sprinkle with a dusting of flour.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir.
Add the margarine. Using your fingertips rub the margarine into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Mix through the mustard powder and grated cheese.
Pour in half the milk and stir through, add a little more and press the scone dough together into a smooth ball. The exact amount of milk required depends on the flour so add a little milk at a time, stir, and bring the scone dough together.
Place the scone dough onto a floured surface and pat it together. If too sticky sprinkle over extra flour, and if too dry and cracked use your fingertips and dip into the leftover milk and work this into the scone mix.
Press the scone dough down into a round about 1 inch high. Using a biscuit/cookie cutter gently stamp out scone rounds.Don't twist the cutter as you lift up the scone, and pull away any dough sticking to the outside of the cutter. Gently pop the scone out of the cutter and lay it on the baking tray.
Work the leftover dough together and press down to 1 inch, stamp out more scones, and so on until all the dough has been used.
You may end up with a small amount of scone dough that doesn't quite fit into the cutter so just use your hands to roughly form a scone that is the same size and shape as the rest. I like to munch this little rough diamond soon after baking with a nice cup of tea!
Using a pastry brush or just your finger tips brush the tops of the scones with a small amount of milk. Sprinkle a few pieces of grated cheese over each scone.
Bake on the middle shelf for 15-20 minutes. My scones were ready at the 18 minute mark using an electric oven at 220C, but do check after 15 minutes as ovens vary. If your using a fan oven check the scones after about 13 minutes.Scones are ready when they have risen, are firm to touch, and are lightly golden.
Leave on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool or just leave to cool on the tray.
Enjoy warm or at room temperature with a nice bowl of soup, or for break with a relaxing cup of tea or coffee.
Notes
Nutritional data is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
Store cheese scones within a covered food container, in a cool, dry area for 2-3 days.
Wrap scones in kitchen foil to keep fresher for longer.
Cheese scones can also be stored, covered, within the refrigerator.
Or freeze for 3-4 months.
Refresh older scones by popping in a warm oven for a few minutes until heated through.
Scones are delicious sliced and toasted, spread wit a little vegan butter.
Cheese scones can be enjoyed as they are, or split open and spread with vegan margarine, vegan butter, hummus, lentil pate, chutney, vegan soft cream cheese, etc.
A few juicy, sweet cherry tomatoes or cucumber slices are a delicious filling.
Or dunk a cheesy scone into your favourite soup or stew.
Vegan cheese scones are perfect for picnics, buffets, parties, pack lunches, after-school snacks, and snacks on-the-go.