Melted

Earlier this week I opened my fridge to find a brick of cheese staring back at me from the top shelf. And not just any cheese. Wilma had purchased a six pound block of Dubliner sharp cheddar. Her reasoning was somewhat logical - she planned to give half to Dani, who shares our love of/obsession with Dubliner cheese. I, of course, had no intention of allowing more than a few slices of the cheese leave my sight by any route aside from consumption by me. However, again I was foiled and the next day the cheese brick had been substantially diminished, no doubt with help from both Wilma and Dani.

Today I took matters into my own hand. If I can't have all the cheese, no one will have any. I determined to transform the cheese into a baked good. Luckily, my Big Book of Baking provided me with the perfect solution: Cheese and mustard scones. All it required was some serious grating and mixing and the scones became a reality. An extra cheesy reality, obviously. The scones were subsequently devoured by members of my mother's posse. All were highly appreciative and they even so generously left a piece of a scone for me to try. Heated up, it was sublime.

Cheese and Mustard Scones
(adapted from the Big Book and Baking)

* 4 tbsp butter
* 1 1/2 cup flour
* 3 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 1/2 (or more...) cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (recommended - Dubliner. Derr)
* 1 tsp mustard powder
* 2/3 cup milk, and some extra for brushing on top
* pepper/sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 425˚.

Mix flour, b.p. and salt. Cut butter into small pieces, then crumble it into the flour mixture with hands (the original recipe says to do this with fingertips, but I am too impatient for such delicateness, so I tend to just smoosh the butter into the dry ingredients and then break up the mixture into crumb-like pieces).

Stir in the cheese (in the end I used about 2 cups grated) and mustard powder. I used only one tsp as called for, but a tad more mustard probably would not hurt. Add the milk and stir until mixture becomes a soft dough. Lightly flour a surface for the dough. Shape the dough on the surface into a circle, about 1 inch tall. Cut into 8 wedges. Brush wedge with milk. Add some pepper on top, or not. We had no sesame seeds, but I reckon these would top off (literally. haha.) the scones nicely as well.














Place the wedges on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until puffed and golden brown and flakily glorious. Eat with cheese, cream cheese, mustard, butter, or nothing.