Cheddar Cheese Scones

It's Monday and, where I come from, that means "snack of the day". It's the day when we run around after school like crazy people, rushing from football to volleyball, getting home late and then eating dinner at some stupid hour of the night... about 8pm. Okay, so it's not Late late, but when kids have to get up at 6.45am for school (and that means their mother has to as well), it's late enough.With dinner time being relatively late, my family need some thing to fill their grumbling tummies in the meantime. Speaking of time, I seriously have to be out of the house in about five minutes with these tucked under my arm. I could forget the football uniforms and volleyball shoes, but forget SOTD and I'd never hear the end of it.

Cheddar Cheese Scones

slightly adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Makes 10

For the Scones:

2 cups plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon caster sugar

3/4 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

A pinch of chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used Noble white cheddar)

1 cup buttermilk cold

115g unsalted butter, melted

For the Topping:

30g unsalted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Preheat your oven to a stongkingly hot 240 degrees C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, place the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, salt, garlic powder, chilli powder and smoked paprika and whisk together with a hand held whisk to combine and get rid of any lumps. Add the cheese and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, stir the melted butter into the buttermilk until the butter seizes from the cold of the buttermilk and forms small clots. You will have a lumpy mixture. Don't panic, this is the way it's meant to be. The little balls of butter that have formed with make the scones light and flaky.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and gently stir with a spatula until the mixture just comes together into a sticky dough.

Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out lumps of dough onto the prepared baking tray, leaving about 2cm between them to allow for spreading. I like mine to just touch each other when they're fully baked so that I can pull them apart. Bake for 12 minutes. 

Meanwhile, mix the melted butter, garlic powder and dried parsley flakes together in a small bowl.

Remove the scones from the oven and immediately brush the tops with the melted butter/garlic powder/dried parsley flake mixture.