Jalapeno Cheddar Scones (and a Culinary Milestone Discovery)

Have you ever looked back at an event in your life and thought man, with all the knowledge and common sense I have now, I would totally do things differently. Well, I had one of those moments the other day when I was desperate for a killer scone recipe and all I could think of was the flaky, delicious, buttery ones that I always used to make/eat at my first job as a pastry assistant during my first internship for culinary school. I remember writing down the recipe but it has since vanished off the face of the earth and I am racking my brain trying to remember it. I have made scones time and time again, experimenting with different flour to butter ratios and I have had some tasty turn out - but haven't quite nailed it.

You might say I'm sort of a scone fanatic (you might remember these, these, or these . Maybe it's the Scottish side of me, maybe it's because I am obsessed with finding THE lost recipe, whatever the reason I simply can't stop.

Some of you might remember these freaky Bread and Butter Pickle Cupcakes I made a while back for Vlasic's new pickle line. Lewis suggested that with a little tweaking, this could be turned into THE scones. So I reduced the sugar, added some spice, and cheese (because cheese makes everything better) and they came out pretty darn close to THE scones! They're light and crispy, with that buttery scone texture and the cheddar and slight heat from the peppers makes a perfect savory scone combo.

Jalapeno Cheddar Scones

makes 8 hearty scones

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2 TBS sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 TSP dried jalapeno peppers, rehydrated in water
2-3 TBS of heavy cream
extra flour for shaping
heavy cream for brushing

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet with non stick spray and set aside

2.With a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until combined. Add egg and mix.

3.In a separate bowl add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. With the electric mixer on low speed, slowly add in the flour mix until dough starts to form, if the dough seems dry add some heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until dough comes together (don't over mix).

4.Turn dough out on a floured surface, with floured hands, take dough and shape into one ball, cut that ball in half, then form two evenly sized balls. Flatted out each dough ball, then, using a bench scrapper, cut each ball into four slices. Place on baking sheet (about 1 - 2 inches apart) and brush with heavy cream before baking 10-15 min.