Stilton Blue Cheese and Apple Scones

Dwalin: What is this?

Balin: I don’t know. I think it’s supposed to be cheese, it’s gone blue.

I still have Hobbit fever after watching The Hobbit marathon a few days ago and I wanted to channel some of that into the kitchen. In a hilarious scene in The Unexpected Journey, Dwalin and Balin raid the shelves of Bilbo Baggins when Balin holds up a wedge of cheese. Unfamiliar with blue cheese, he tosses it off to the corner thinking it has gone blue. On a side note, who else wants a pantry like Bilbo?

Hobbit or not, these blue cheese and apple scones are amazing. I find myself typically craving sweet and salty food combinations and this really hits the spot. Feel free to substitute various dried fruits and other kinds of cheese that you have in you pantry for this recipe.

Stilton Blue Cheese and Apple Scones

Yield : 6 servings, 2 1/2″ sqaures Bake Time : 20mins Total : 40mins

All-Purpose Flour – 8oz

Whole Wheat Flour – 4oz

Salt – 1 tbsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Cold Butter, thinly sliced – 6oz

Stilton Blue Cheese – 4oz

Chopped Fresh Parsley, just the leaves – 2 tbsp

Freeze Dried Apples, chopped – 3 oz

Egg – 1, large

Heavy Cream – just enough to hydrate the dough, 2 cups

In a bowl, combine you all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and sugar. Whisk together.

Add your cold sliced butter and start working it into the flour with your hands or a pastry cutter.

You want your butter pieces to be roughly the size of hazelnuts.

In the center of your bowl, create a well and crack the egg into the center. Pour half of the cream in the center and start mixing it in with a fork as if you’re making pasta. You want the mixture to start forming a dough and make sure all your flour is hydrated. If not, add more cream.

Once you have your dough, lightly flour your work surface and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is approx. 1 1/2″ thick. Cut the scones to your desired size and shape. In the photo above, I cut the scones into 2 1/2″ squares. Before you bake it off, brush with egg wash or cream. Feel free to cut these into triangles or even if you have a cute cookie cutter. If you are doing a more defined shape, chill the scones before baking it off. This way your scones will retain the shape better than if you had just placed it straight into the oven.

I hope everyone is having a stress free week before Christmas!

Stilton Blue Cheese and Apple Scones

Also on Feast of Starlight