A savoy scone with buttery walnuts and smooth hints of blue cheese.  I have made these before for a Bridal Shower that I catered a few years ago, and they were a hit there, so I figured that they would be a good fit for the bachelorette beach weekend breakfast that I was contributing to.  These are also great when served with a spiced pear preserve – just a little something to think about.

Walnut & Blue Cheese Scones

Recipe makes 8 large scones or 16 small scones.

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp Butter + 8 tbsp  (1 stick) Butter
• 2 1/2 cups Flour
• 2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup Cream
• 5 oz crumbled Blue Cheese
• 1 cup Walnuts

Directions:

1. Melt 4 tbsp of butter in a saucepan until the milk solids separate – making a browned butter.
2. Allow the browned butter to cool slightly.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. In a food processor combine 8 tbsp butter with the dry ingredients (not including the walnuts and blue cheese) until crumbles start to form. (you can also do this step by hand with a pastry cutter)
6. Add the eggs, and continue to pulse the dough in the machine until the eggs are well combined.
7. Add the browned butter.
8. Add the heavy cream and the blue cheese.  This should bring all the dough together into a uniformed blob.
9. Remove the dough from the food processor, and gently knead in the walnut pieces.
10. Form the dough into a large round disk (or divide the dough in half into two round disks for the smaller scones).  You might need a rolling pin to roll it out slightly – the dough should be about 1.5″ – 2″ thick.
11. Cut the dough rounds in half, then into quarters, and then into eighths – like a large pie with eight wedges.  Each wedge is an individual scone.
12. Place the scones on the baking sheet leaving plenty of space in between so that they may grow as they bake.
13.  Bake the scones for ~20 minutes (~15 minutes for the smaller scones).