I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday. My holiday isn’t quite over yet, as I’m celebrating part two tomorrow.

And as if broccoli gratin &  lasagna (in addition to turkeys, stuffing, potatoes, etc) weren’t enough for my 2 Thanksgivings this year, I decided to make cheddar dill scones as well. I’ve been tossing the idea around for about 100 years now (real time: a year), and failed to follow through every time. Mainly because there are always a shitload of things that I end up making to eat every holiday dinner, and I know there are always so many leftovers, it seems silly to throw something else in there. But scones are an easy thing to make, take no time or effort really, they keep pretty good, and this year it was a happy surprise that while Jay was not off on Thanksgiving (stupid NYPD), he was able to get off the Saturday after for my Thanksgiving #2. And Jay loves dill. And cheddar biscuits. And these scones are kind of a combination of those. So therefore, I figured, he’s not much of a turkey guy, and he’s not much of a cupcake guy either (I know! TRAVESTY!), so I’ll make him something I know for sure he’ll love… and devour.

And who couldn’t use a little extra cheese and fat incorporated into their meals this time of year?

CHEDDAR DILL SCONES

Ingredients:

• 4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¾ pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 4 extra-large eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• ½ pound extra-sharp yellow Cheddar, small-diced
• 1 cup minced fresh dill
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water or milk, for egg wash

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° degrees F.
2. Combine 4 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Mix the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Combine until just blended. Toss together the Cheddar, dill, and 1 tablespoon of flour and add them to the dough. Mix until they are almost incorporated.
3. Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it for 1 minute, until the Cheddar and dill are well distributed. Roll the dough ¾-inch thick. Cut into 4-inch squares and then in half diagonally to make triangles. Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 20 to 25 minutes, until the outside is crusty and the inside is fully baked.

The taste of these is almost exactly like those Red Lobster biscuits with dill. They’re excellent. Score another 10 points for Ina Garten. You could easily omit the dill if you like. I’ve even seen variations with both bacon and chives replacing the dill. Do as you wish!

I used shredded Cheddar, not diced. It didn’t make much of a difference at all. None, really. It just depends on what you’ve got. Work with what you’ve got, honey *three snaps* I would, however, have used sharp or extra sharp cheddar next time. This time I used mild, and while they were amazing, I would’ve liked a punchier cheese flavor. That’s probably why the recipe calls for extra-sharp. Duh. I chose to make mine round, not in the triangles the recipe suggests, so I got a ton more. Which is good because I didn’t want anyone fighting over them. Heat them up, or eat ‘em room temperature. Spread some butter on ‘em or eat ‘em plain. They’re good no matter which way you choose to eat them.

This was my first attempt at a savory scone. I’ve made several sweet ones, and they’ve all been received well, so I’m glad I tried these. Because boy, these are some awesome scones. I could eat a lot more of these than one should.

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