Cheddar & Shallot Skillet Scones

It seems like people have very strong feelings about cast iron skillets, positive or negative. Those who don’t own or use cast iron skillets regularly sometimes are scared of using them, because they think they’re hard to care for. The seasoning of the skillet is a little intimidating unless you’ve read a little bit about it. But on the other hand, those people who own and use cast iron skillets really love theirs. Prior to this past Christmas, we probably the only South Carolinians who didn’t own one.

We’ve been using it these past months for burgers and steaks, and we definitely are on Team Cast Iron Skillet now. But we also got a cast iron skillet cookbook for Christmas and had yet to make anything out of it. These scones were our first choice out of there and accidentally, were perfect for today! We didn’t plan it that way, but what is more perfectly British than a scone? And on today, Royal Wedding Day, where Americans pretend we didn’t rebel against the crown and join the rest of the world in being awe-struck by the pageantry of it all, what better day to share this scone recipe! We’ve now moved on from watching the Royal Wedding to English Premier League soccer football, so we’re basically British today 🇬🇧

We really enjoyed these scones. They aren’t overly cheesy, but have a nice flavor. We topped them with our Bacon Jam, which was basically magical. They stayed nice and moist in the middle, which is great since I think some dislike scones, thinking they’re too dry. And honestly, they’re really nothing like what you think a traditional British scone would be. You probably wouldn’t serve this with clotted cream or Earl Grey. They taste like they came from a Southern cook, instead of a British one, but we’ll pretend.

Cheddar & Shallot Skillet Scones

(Adapted from Home Skillet, by Robin Donovan)

Ingredients:

• 8+ tbsp very cold butter*
• 2 cups AP flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp Frank’s Red Hot sauce
• 3 turns fresh ground black pepper

*COLD butter is important. Try this: place the butter in the freezer for 30 minutes prior to making the scones. Use a grater to cut into small pieces.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking powder.
3. In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Whisk together the liquid ingredients and then stir in the cheese and shallots.
4. Work the cold butter into the dry ingredients. Gently combine with your hands.
5. Stir the bowl of wet ingredients into the dry bowl + butter. Don’t over-combine, as best you can.
6. Once the dough has just come together, flour your hands and counter-top and then knead the dough just a few times.
7. Grease the cast iron skillet with butter. Turn the ball of dough into the skillet and pat down until it completely covers the bottom of the skillet. Slice the dough about 2/3s of the way through into triangles. (Cutting 8 slices is easy, but you can go bigger or smaller.)
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
9. Allow to cool and finish the slice all the way through before serving.

Makes 8-12 scones