Pear and Cheddar Scones | Southern Boy Dishes

I recently made a pizza with pears, blue cheese, and prosciutto. Whenever I make a dish with a combination of ingredients that I like, I think about other ways I can use the combination. Scones came to mind, so I tried making a pear and blue cheese version. I was disappointed with the result. I found the blue cheese was a little overpowering for a scone, but I didn’t give up on the pear scone idea. I remembered a pear and cheddar pie that my friend, Bill Pressley, makes that is quite delicious, so I decided to substitute the blue cheese with cheddar.

I was very happy with the result. In the first run with pear and blue cheese, I diced the pears and put them into the dough without cooking. I found that I wanted larger pieces of pear in each bite, so in this version, I cut the pears into larger 1/2 inch pieces. I also precooked the pears in butter and maple syrup for extra flavor. This step is well worth the effort.

I think you’ll really like the pear and cheddar combination. Give this one a try and let me know what you think.

Scones with Pear and Cheddar Cheese

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 8 scones

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tbsp very cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp heavy cream
2 pears
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup grated sharp white cheddar cheese
Course turbinado sugar for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Peel and core pears and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
4. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a skillet.
5. Add maple syrup and 1/8 tsp salt and stir to combine.
6. Add pears to skillet and cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
7. Remove from skillet and refrigerate.
8. Place flour, sugar, 3/4 tsp salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 3 or 4 times to mix ingredients.
9. Add butter to food processor and pulse until butter is pea sized.
10. Pour flour and butter mixture into a large bowl.
11. Add cold pears and cheese to the bowl and stir to combine.
12. Add 3/4 cup cream and stir to combine.
13. Remove dough and place on a floured surface.
14. Form the dough into an 8 inch round.
15. Cut the dough into 8 wedge shaped pieces.
16. Brush top of each scone with cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
17. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned on top.