Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Tuesdays with Dorie: Apple-Cheddar Scones

This week's recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie was Apple-Cheddar Scones, chosen by Karina of The Floured Apron. Thank you, Karina, for a delicious choice!


I stayed close to the recipe on this one. I made the apple juice from concentrate and made it extra-strong by adding just one can of water instead of three, for extra flavor. I thought my dried apples were a bit too dry, so I soaked them in a generous bath of apple juice. Bad idea -- they soaked up the juice like little sponges and were soon far too wet! I had to drain them and press them between towels to keep them from being utterly soggy. Note to self, next time just sprinkle dried apples lightly if they need moistening.

The dough was indeed very moist and sticky. I spread it out on a well-floured cutting board using a spatula, not my fingers, then patted it gently into final shape with floured hands. Then I cut it with a floured dough scraper (a wonderful tool for scones).


These were extremely tasty! They came out a little flatter than I would have liked, next time I will make them smaller and thicker. Both the apple and cheddar flavors were subtle and went well together. The cornmeal added a lovely "crunch." The texture was nice and light.

However, Jim and I are more "big bold flavors" people, so we may try increasing both the apples and the cheddar next time. Not to mention that I want to try some apple-ginger scones, and some apple-pecan scones, and some cheddar-herb savory scones, and....

14 comments:

Prudy said...

Barbara:
The scones look beautiful! That was a good idea to concentrate the apple juice. I'd love to try your variation ideas too-especially the cheddar-savory. Wouldn't that be so good with roasted meat?

Dolores said...

Beautiful scones Barbara.

I agree with you, there's no such thing as too much cheese in this particular recipe. :)

Engineer Baker said...

That was a great idea to use super concentrated apple juice! They look perfect, but everything is improved by more cheese, isn't it?

allison said...

Apple pecan scones sound wonderful. This was a great recipe. Your concentrated juice does sound good.

ostwestwind said...

Your scones look beautiful, well done!
Ulrike from Küchenlatein

BAKE-EN said...

Your scones look great. I'm with you on adding more flavor to them next time. I will definitely up the amount of cheese.

Anonymous said...

Ha! I want to try some smoked bacon, cheddar, and jalapeno scones. Big flavah!

Amy said...

Great Job! Your scones look delicious.

Anonymous said...

I am not in on Tuesdays with Dorie, but I have her book and find most of the recipes work well even though I am used to weighing rather than measuring. Just this last week I have been on a roll and have made the Vanilla Pound cake(very good), the Apple Spice Bars (slight problem with the topping!) but still very tasty, the Grainiest muffins, again very good and yesterday I made the Sour Cream Pecan Biscuits. These I haven't tasted yet as I put them in the freezer uncooked but they looked good so I am hopeful! Now that I have seen your Scones I think those will be my next baking challenge, I too love cheese as a flavouring and we get excellent Cheddar over here, right from the area where it originates! Jeannette

Shandy said...

Aren't those silipats wonderful? Your scones look terrific and your ideas sound like winners too! Great scones. =D

Anne said...

They look great! Smart idea on the apple juice. Great job Barbara!

Jules Someone said...

The scones are lovely. Maybe a stronger flavored cheddar next time?

Anonymous said...

I agree the flavors in these were pretty delicate. It's a little hard to make the apple flavor stronger, unless you use fresh and saute them a little. Also, a stronger, creamier cheese would taste lovely, as well.

Sadly, I do not have a recipe for actual scones, since I always just used to go to the Scottish Bakery for them. Since I live so far away from that, though, it's probably time to hunt a good recipe down...

Jaime said...

wow your scones are so perfectly shaped!