Cheese scones

One of the strongest childhood memories I have is of making scones with my granny.

I guess she has been gone for a decade now, and her difficult mental health situation made for little contact for quite some time before that ... but wind back about 25 years, when either things were easier, or I was less aware of difficulties (probably both) and I am standing on a chair in her kitchen so that I can reach down into the mixing bowl on the counter to rub the butter and flour together with my enthusiastic, un-coordinated hands. I remember holding my sticky fingers apart to be wiped and washed when the mixing was done. And that ten minutes in a warm oven seemed like an eternity ...

I am not sure I have ever made scones outside of that relationship before today. Of course, we never made cheese scones. Ours might have had raisins in from time to time, but were definitely sweet, destined to be slathered in home-made jam. I seem to remember that rather than butter we used a margarine called Stork. Isn't it odd, the details we remember versus the ones we forget?

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Edit: On MB's suggestion, here is the recipe :)

225g self-raising flour
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
40g butter (or a little more)
50g cheese - finely grated, plus a little more for the top
1/4 pint milk

• Preheat oven to 220 C.
• Sieve flour, salt, baking powder and mustard powder into large mixing bowl.
• Add butter and rub together with your fingers until it turns to breadcrumbs.
• Stir in the grated cheese.
• Slowly stir in the milk, adding a little at a time, using a metal spoon, until the mixture is just gathering together enough that you can ball it up with your hand. You may need to vary the amount of milk slightly.
• Ball up into a loose dough.
• Press or roll gently on a floured surface until about 2cm thick.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters - you can re-use the extra bits, but they'll fall apart slightly.
• Add the really crumbly left over pieces for the dog.
• Place on a greased baking tray.
• Brush the top lightly with milk or beaten egg yolk. Sprinkle a little extra cheese.
• Bake in the oven at 220 C for 10 minutes.

Eat warm, with butter, watched closely by a salivating boxer dog.
Give the dog her extra pieces. Feel warm inside.