I just got back from New Haven, where, after spending last week celebrating my graduation from law school, I spent this weekend celebrating at my five year reunion from college. And next week I get to celebrate my birthday! So many reasons to make baked goods, so little time.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, you’ll know that my favorite cake of all time is Claire’s Lithuanian Coffee Cake with extra buttercream frosting, which is something you can order at Claire’s Cornercopia, a New Haven bakery. But since I’ve made that before, I decided to make something else out of the Claire’s cookbook in honor of my excursion to New Haven – cheddar scones.

These scones won for two reasons. First, they included cheese, and I really haven’t met any recipe that includes cheese where I’m unhappy with the end result. Second, they didn’t actually involve the parts of scone making that I find annoying, like trying to get super dry dough to stay together and shaping it into even wedges. Instead, I could just spoon dollops onto a baking sheet. Easy to handle on a weekday night.

I also ended up making Claire’s stuffed peppers the same day (Claire’s Cornercopia is not just a bakery, but also a vegetarian restaurant), and found that the cheddar scones complimented them pretty well for dinner. In the morning, they were still delicious for breakfast. All purpose cheddar scones!

First, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. You’ll notice the not yellow bowl. This is my first recipe in my summer kitchen! I’ll be spending the summer with Erik, which means his kitchen will be featured pretty prominently over the next couple of months.

Anyways, next add the cheese and whisk to combine. Add the butter, and “rub into the flour mixture with your fingers” until it is the texture of cornmeal. This is my new favorite way to cut in butter (other than a food processor, for obvious reasons). No fiddling with two knives. No need to track down a pastry blender. Just play with it like you would sand at the beach. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients all at once, and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Dough will be pretty sticky – that’s fine, since you won’t actually be handling it again with your hands. Using two spoons, drop the dough into six roughly equal mounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375°F for around 30 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Cheddar Scones

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
2. Add cheddar and whisk to combine.
3. Add butter and use fingers to rub into flour until the texture of cornmeal.
4. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and buttermilk.
5. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients in one addition and stir with a wooden spoon until dough comes together and is just combined.
6. Drop dough onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper in 6 mounds, spread out.
7. Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.