I have been baking scones for over a decade.  They’re an often requested breakfast dish and a favorite among family and friends.  Depending on which person you ask, the best scone filling varies: blueberry/white chocolate chip, cinnamon chip, chocolate chip.  As you can see from this list, I have stayed with the sweet style of scones.

For a while now, I’ve considered making a scone that ventured into the savory side.  My husband, especially, has shown an interest in trying a scone of this fashion.  With a delayed Father’s Day celebration occurring just the other week, it seemed the perfect time to give a savory scone a try.

Since it was his celebration, I wanted to make something that he would enjoy, which meant including some fresh herbs from his garden.  As a way of convincing the kids that they’d want to try these scones, I chose parmesan for the cheese, as that is a favorite for all of them.  Ham was the easy choice as the third flavor: not too bold and enjoyed by all.  However, I think these scones could be made with a variety of different cheeses, meats, and herbs. I would suggest sticking with hard cheeses (as they have less moisture) and would drain meat well (again to avoid extra moisture in the dough).

The savory scones were a hit with my husband.  The kids’ votes were mixed; no one thoroughly disliked them, but no one was ecstatic about them.  Of course, they all have a penchant for sweets, so when they heard scones, they immediately assumed they would have chocolate.  As for me, I found that the scones were tasty and will be a new recipe with which I can experiment and try new flavor combinations.

Savory Scones

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

5 Tb. unsalted butter, diced

3/4 cup smoked ham, diced

3/4 cup parmesan, grated

1 Tb. fresh rosemary, chopped

3/4 cup buttermilk*

1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 400◦F. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Add butter.  Combine ingredients using a pastry blender (or two forks) until butter is reduced to the size of grains of rice.  Stir in ham, cheese, and rosemary. Whisk buttermilk and egg yolk in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or small bowl.  Add liquids to dry ingredients; mix until dough forms a ball.  Place dough on a lightly floured surface and press into an 8-inch round.  Cut into 8 wedges.  Transfer wedges to rimmed cookie sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the scones are crusty on top and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.  Serve warm.

*Instead of using buttermilk, I often combine 1 tablespoon vinegar and enough milk to equal 3/4 cup.