Yes, I’ve been a bit absent, but I’ve been distracted and don’t feel one bit guilty about it (okay, maybe just a little). We’re so busy taking care of last minute things to get ready for baby Ruf. I don’t think I’ve cooked a meal in more than a week. Yikes! We’ve been having our ‘last meals’ out with friends, running errands after work, cleaning out the freezer, etc.

So this weekend, Andy and I didn’t plan anything except to just take care of things around the house and hang-out with each other. Of course, we ended up doing more than we planned to but it’s been nice. I really didn’t end up cooking much again, but that’s ok. We had a bunch of veggies from our garden and pesto caprese sandwiches. Works for us!

It also happened to be my week to host Project Pastry Queen and I chose Bacon and Cheddar Scones. Bacon and cheddar in a scone?!? Yummy! I also made a plain batch for slathering with butter and jelly.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 C flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 C chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 ½ C grated Cheddar cheese
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 10 slices bacon, cooked and chopped into 1” pieces
• ¾ – 1 ½ C buttermilk (I used all of it)
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp water

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
3. Gradually cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles small peas.
4. Add grated cheese and mix until just combined.
5. Add green onions, bacon, and ¾ C of the buttermilk to flour and cheese mixture.
6. Mix by hand until just incorporated. If dough is too dry to hold together, use remaining buttermilk, adding 1 Tbls at a time, until dough is pliable and can be formed into a ball.
7. Remove dough from bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface.
8. Pat dough into a ball.
9. Using a well-floured rolling pin, flatten dough into a circle about 8” wide and ½” thick.
10. Cut dough into 8-10 wedges.
11. Whisk egg and water in a small mixing bowl to combine.
12. Brush each wedge with egg wash.
13. Place scones on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 18-20 min, or until golden brown.
14. Best served warm.

NOTES
8-10 scones

Scones can be made in a mixer but for the lightest, fluffiest scones, they are best made by hand and handled as little as possible.