Lets talk about totally old-school baking. Scones.

But not just your ordinary old-school. There have always been cheese scones, and there have always been date scones. But how it took until the year 2017 to come across cheese and date scones, that is one of life’s mysteries.


I should add a word about date scones, with or without cheese, and the word is this: MEDJOOL. I remember having date scones at our ski lodge when I was young, and the dates were so dry, you couldn’t really even cut them with a log splitter. You needed to soak them in water before they were chewable, only sometimes whoever made the scones forgot that part.  So I urge to you, don’t just try and squish the date packets at the supermarket to find out if they are soft, go straight to the chilled section and splurge on fresh medjool dates, and prepare for the scones of your life. (Confession – the medjool dates in the picture above had been living in my fridge for quite some time, but they’re still stickier than regular dates!).

But I’m not here to tell you just about dates. This is about cheese and date scones, quick mix breakfast heaven (I should know, I had them for breakfast this morning). These scones don’t have any butter in them, just lots of cheese, so they are even faster to mix than regular scones. Cheese, dates, flour, baking powder, a pinch of salt and some milk, and you’re on your way.

The tastier the cheese, the better. I would go for extra tasty cheese, maybe even a vintage cheddar. This brings out that salty sweet flavour. Bake them until golden brown, with the cheese bubbling out. Yum.

Really really yum.

Cheese and Date Scones

makes 12

ingredients

3 cups flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
150g (2 cups) grated tasty cheddar cheese (or vintage cheddar)
200g medjool dates, pitted and chopped
2 cups whole milk

mixing

Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly, then toss through the grated cheese and dates until well combined. Pour the milk all over the mixture, and mix with a wooden spoon, using a cutting and turning motion, until the mixture is only just combined. There will be small pockets in the mixture where flour still remains visible, and some parts of the mixture will look quite wet.

Flour a work surface liberally and scoop the mixture out onto the surface. Sprinkle the top of the mixture liberally with flour, then, using your hands, pat the mixture into a rough rectangle, about 2-3cm thick. Cut the rectangle into 12 even pieces with a sharp knife. Transfer the scones onto a floured baking tray. Bake the scones at 220 degrees Celsius for 10-12 minutes or until golden, with pockets of cheese bubbling out. Serve warm.

Enjoy!xxx