cheesy bacon scones

Having been invited to a St. Patrick's Day brunch, it seemed only fitting that I bring scones.

Yield: 19 scones

140 calories per scone

Active time: 15 minutes

Total time: 75 minutes

ingredients

1½ cup wheat flour

1/2 cup high gluten flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper, plus some for garnish

1/2 cup coconut oil

4 strips of turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled

2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

3/4 cup half and half

water, as needed

preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pepper, and salt in your stand mixer bowl and "stir", using the paddle attachment, until well mixed.

3. Slowly add pieces of the coconut oil to the flour mixture until it is completely incorporated, increase the speed to 2 and knead until the mixture has a fine, mealy texture, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the turkey bacon crumbles to the stand mixer bowl and return to "stir". I use a Nordic Ware bacon cooker, which can be found online or at Target, to cook bacon. I normally eat soy bacon, so the construction of the bacon cooker does a great job circulating heat and I have found that when cooking pork or turkey bacon it is very efficient and drains the fat into the tray. It also saves you from wasting countless paper towels if you use the glass pan, bacon, paper towel, repeat technique. :)

5. Add the cheese and attach your dough hook.

6.  Slowly add in the half and half, continuing to "stir" until just combined and the mixture has formed into a dough, about 3 minutes. You may need to scrape down the bowl to ensure all of the ingredients are incorporated."Stir" for about 3 minutes, adding up to 1/4 cup water if dough seems very dry. In the photo below, the dough has just been scraped down.

7. Turn the dough out onto the counter top and shape into a rectangle. Put the dough in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes. I set it on a silpat sheet to make rolling (step 7) easier.

8. Roll the rectangle out to about ½ inch thick and cut out circles, using a drinking glass (or circle cutter if you have one). I was able to cut 12 scones from my first roll, gathered the scraps, re-rolled and got about 4 more using the glass. I then divided the dough and shaped the last 3 scones by hand. Because the dough is dry, you may need to use your hands to flatten the dough to avoid breakage.

(Gently tip the scone inward to release it from the glass. The scones on the left in the photo on the right hand side were hand shaped.)

 9. Place the scones onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.

10. Brush the tops of the scones with an egg wash (or half and half) and sprinkle with pepper.

11. Bake the scones for about 20-25 minutes, until the scones puff up slightly and the tops just start to brown.

Other modifications:

• Want larger portions? Shape the dough into a disc and cut out triangles.
• Don't like or have coconut oil? Use butter.
• Use a lower fat dairy or dairy alternative like skim or almond milk.
• Change up the add-ins to something more exotic like manchego cheese and chilies with prosciutto -the world is your oyster. 

Original recipe found here.