Cheese, Chorizo & Chive Scones

Cheese, Chorizo & Chive Scones are the latest incarnation of my popular light and fluffy cheese scones.

Like the original Very Cheesy Cheese Scones, there’s plenty of tangy Cheddar in there.

But a generous amount of smoky chorizo plus fresh chives means these are packed with even more flavour.

So easy, you can be enjoying Cheese, Chorizo & Chive Scones within thirty-five minutes.

Delicious pulled apart, spread with butter and eaten as a snack or part of a savoury afternoon tea. Great too alongside soups and salads instead of bread.

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I can’t get enough of savoury, cheesy, light and fluffy cheese scones.

And, judging by the popularity of my Very Cheesy Cheese Scones, neither can you lot out there.

With shop-bought cheese scones often lacking in cheesy flavour, I think it really is worth making your own.

But you don’t have to stick to just cheese.

Once you’ve mastered the basic cheese scone (which honestly doesn’t take much effort anyway) you can make all sorts of flavours.

Some of those I’ve already posted include:

• Cheese, Smoky Bacon & Spring Onion Scones
• Roasted Pepper, Salami & Cheese Scones
• Cheese & Ham Scones with Wild Garlic

Now I want to share another favourite cheese scone recipe.

Cheese, Chorizo & Chive Scones.

CHEESE, CHORIZO & CHIVE SCONES

All my cheese scone recipes have the same ingredients at their heart.

• Self-raising flour: for a nice, tall scone
• Baking powder: gives the flour even more oomph
• Salt: for taste
• Butter: for flavour and tenderness
• Milk, yogurt or buttermilk (or any combination of these) to bring the dough together.

• Cheese: my preference is for a tangy, mature Cheddar and plenty of it. You can replace some of it with Parmesan or gruyere if you like.

You might think that the amount of cheese in the recipe is rather a lot (250 grams for 12-14 scones). But it really doesn’t pay to be mean here.

I coarsely grate most of the cheese and add it to the dough. Around 30 grams is set aside to sprinkle over the tops of the scones just before baking. I find it best to finely grate this as it’s less likely to fall off.

The extra ingredients you’ll need for my Cheese, Chorizo & Chives Scones are (surprise, surprise) chorizo and fresh chives.

The type of chorizo you need is the thinly cut, deli-type. The sort you might have in a sandwich or alongside other meats and cheeses rather than for cooking.

Cooking chorizo is much hard and, I think, too intrusive in what should be a light and fluffy scone.

You’ll need a good bunch of fresh chives. When I have them growing in the garden, I’ll just grab a big handful. But if you’re buying, you’ll need around 10-15 grams.

I use scissors rather than a knife to snip the chives finely and also cut the chorizo into little pieces around one centimetre square.

Then you’re ready to make the easy dough.

You’ll find a detailed recipe card at the end of the post: Jump to Recipe.

Or read on for more tips and images.

EASY SCONE DOUGH

Even if you’ve never made scones before, I think you’ll find it dead simple.

Start by sifting together the self-raising flour, baking powder and salt.

You then rub in the butter before stirring in the cheese, chorizo and chives. If you find the bits of chorizo sticking together, just rub them between your fingers and toss them through the mix so they get coated in flour.

Tip: you can also add a little smoked paprika. Not entirely necessary for flavour (there’s plenty from the chorizo) the paprika does add to the colour.

Then you pour in enough liquid to bring everything together into a soft dough.

I like the tang that yogurt brings (and I think it makes for a fluffier scone) so most often use a mix of yogurt and milk.

Note that different flours absorb different amounts of liquid so I can’t be exact as to how much you’ll need. I suggest you start with the lower amount shown in the recipe card and add more as necessary.

You’re then ready to roll the dough and cut out the scones.

For a nice tall scone, roll out no thinner than 2.5 – 3 centimetres.

Using a 6 – 7 cm cutter, this should give you 12- 14 Cheese, Chorizo & Chives Scones.

Before popping into the oven, brush the tops with a little more of your chosen liquid and sprinkle over the reserved grated cheese.

BAKING, SERVING & STORING

In a preheated oven, the scones are going to take no more than 13 – 15 minutes to bake. So don’t be tempted to wander off.

I check after 10 minutes and turn the tray around for even cooking.

When done, the scones should be risen, golden, and with a lightly crusted top.

Leave the scones on a cooling rack for a couple of minutes.

This will firm the outside a little but the inside will stay light and soft.

Did you know you should pull apart a warm scone rather than cut it?

This helps to keep the fluffy interior intact, whereas a knife can mush and ruin it.

As you can see from the image below, the inside is light, flaky, and full of cheesy, chorizo and chive flavour.

You’ll then want to slather the split scone with plenty of butter.

I love these scones as a snack or lunch. I’ve even been known sandwich one back together with a slice of cheese and a slice of chorizo. Put in the oven or microwave until the cheese melts makes a rather special weekend brunch.

You could also enjoy them as part of a savoury afternoon tea with sandwiches of traditional British goodies like Homemade Potted Beef or Potted Ham.

Great as a replacement for bread, savoury scones are also brilliant alongside soups and salads.

Like all scones, these are best eaten within two days of making. But they freeze really well.

You can reheat them in a low oven or, if you’re impatient like me, in a microwave.

If you love a good cheesy, herby scone and the smoky, spicy flavour of chorizo I hope you’ll give my Cheese, Chorizo & Chive Scones a try.

Let me know what you think in the comments. And don’t forget to rate the recipe.

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Cheese, Chorizo & Chive Scones

Delicious, easy, light and fluffy cheese scones with smoky chorizo and fresh chives.

To get a tall, well-risen scone, make sure your self-raising flour and baking powder are well within date and haven't been open too long. Roll out the dough no more than 2.5 - 3 cm thick.

Course Side Dish, Snack, Bread, Cheese, Lunch, Light Meal

Cuisine British

Keyword cheese scones, savoury scones

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 12 minimum

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 250 g well flavoured cheese e.g. mature Cheddar
• 150 g chorizo see Recipe Note #1
• 450 g self raising flour plus extra for rolling
• 2 level tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 60 g butter
• 10-15 g chives finely chopped or snipped with scissors
• 1 tsp smoked paprika optional
• 225-300 ml plain yogurt, milk, or buttermilk or a mixture of these

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.

   Grease or line a large baking tray.

2. Grate 220g of the cheese coarsely. Grate the remaining 30g finely and keep separate.

   Chop the chorizo into small pieces no bigger than 1cm square (scissors are easier than a knife here).

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.

   Grate in the butter (dip the butter into the flour now and then to stop it sticking) then rub in using your fingertips.

4. Stir in the chorizo, chives, the 220g of coarsely grated cheese, plus the smoked paprika if using.

   Tip: If the pieces of chorizo stick together, separate them with your fingers and toss through the mixture.

5. Stir in 225ml of the yogurt, milk or buttermilk and start to bring together: add more liquid as needed to create a soft but not wet dough.

6. On a floured surface, briefly knead the dough into a ball then roll out 2½ - 3 cm thick.

   Using a 6-7 cm cutter stamp out scones and place them on the prepared baking tray. Re-roll the scraps to make more until all the dough is used up.

7. Brush a little milk, yogurt or buttermilk over the tops of the scones.

   Sprinkle with the reserved 30g of finely grated cheese.

8. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake until risen and golden (13-15 min).

   Transfer to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes.

9. Serve warm, split and spread with butter.

   Tip: pull apart rather than cut to retain the light and fluffy texture.

   Best eaten within 2 days of baking or can be frozen when cold.

   Reheat in a low oven or the microwave.

Recipe Notes

Note #1  Use thinly sliced deli-style chorizo rather than the harder cooking type.

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