Though I enjoy sweet scones, it's these Savory Scones with Gruyere and Chives that have my heart. They're wonderful alongside fried or scrambled eggs any time of year and an unbeatable companion for a steaming hot bowl of soup when the weather is chilly.
I've been making these ever since lovely Paula of Vintage Kitchen posted her mini scones several years ago. Though I love sweet breakfast foods like Oatmeal Banana Bread, Belgian Waffles, and Banana Oatmeal Pancakes, it's usually savory breakfasts that I crave. And these flaky, crunchy edged, buttery soft centered, savory scones always deliver.
Ingredients You Need to Make Savory Scones
- Butter: start with very cold butter when making these scones for the flakiest scones.
- Gruyere cheese: I love to use gruyere, but you have lots of cheese options for this recipe including sharp cheddar and pecorino or parmesan cheese.
- Chives: Look for perky, bright green chives. And if you don't have chives on hand, green onions work well.
- Egg: I've made these with and without an egg and much prefer the texture with it.
- Heavy Cream: like the butter, start with very cold heavy cream.
- Flours: You'll need both all-purpose flour and white whole wheat flour for this recipe.
- Baking Powder: I use non-aluminum baking powder.
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper: If you use salted butter, you'll want to reduce the salt by ½ teaspoon. Pepper adds great flavor to these!
The ingredient list above is just a suggestion since this savory scone recipe is infinitely adaptable - jalapeño and sharp cheddar cheese for example, or pecorino with roasted garlic, or a sour cream version with green onions and dill. Try the original first and then get creative making it your own.
What to eat with Savory Scones.
These are just the sort of thing to serve for brunch on a lazy weekend (I like to serve them with Baked Eggs). Or when the days get shorter and the mercury falls, to pair with your favorite soup for a simple dinner. (Vegan Butternut Squash Soup, Tuscan White Bean Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, Winter Squash Soup would all be excellent choices.)
How to Reheat Frozen Scones
If you're lucky enough to have leftover scones, they freeze beautifully. Let them cool completely and then store in the freezer in a freezer bag or other airtight, freezer-safe container. To reheat, remove from freezer container and place on a cooling rack while your oven heats to 350˚F. Arrange partially thawed scones on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until heated through. (You can also bake straight from the freezer, but it will take a couple of extra minutes and you run the risk of cold spots in the center.)
How to Make Savory Scones
Step 1: Add dry ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add cold butter and shredded cheese; pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add chives and black pepper; pulse to combine.
Step 2: Transfer flour mixture to a large bowl. Whisk together heavy cream and egg; drizzle over flour mixture and fold with fork just to combine. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and form into a ball. Divide ball in half and pat each half into a ¾-inch thick circle. Cut each circle into 6 equal wedges.
Step 3: Arrange wedges, spaced 1-inch apart, onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush tops with cream and bake at 400˚F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Savory Scones with Gruyere and Chives
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 204g
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour 120g
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt recipe note #2
- 3 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into ½-inch dice and chilled
- ¼ cup minced fresh chives
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream plus more for brushing the tops
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add flours, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor; pulse several times to combine. Scatter chilled butter cubes and shredded cheese over mixture and pulse several times, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal (you should still have visible flecks of butter). Add chives and black pepper and pulse a few times to combine. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
- In a glass measuring pitcher, whisk together heavy cream and egg. Slowly drizzle over flour mixture as you lift and stir with a fork until cream mixture and dry ingredients are just combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead gently until you can gather it into a ball (working as quickly as possible to keep the ingredients cold). Divide the dough in half with a large, sharp knife or dough scraper and pat each half into a circle, about ¾-inch thick. Cut each circle into 6 equal wedges (12 total scones).
- Arrange scones on prepared baking sheet, leaving 1-inch between each. Brush the top of each scone with cream and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until scones are golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- To skip the food processor, you can combine the dry ingredients and butter in a large bowl with a pastry cutter.
- If you use salted butter, reduce the amount of kosher salt to 1 teaspoon.
- If you have leftover scones, allow to cool completely and then wrap tightly and refrigerate for a few days. Reheat in a 350˚F oven before serving. For longer storage, store in the freezer in a freezer bag or other airtight, freezer-safe container. To reheat, remove from freezer container and place on a cooling rack while your oven heats to 350˚F. Arrange partially thawed scones on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until heated through.
Yes, these with scrambled eggs sounds like a perfect breakfast to me!
Love how you think, Naomi!
I rarely make scones, Marissa. But when I do, I always wonder why I don't do it more often! These savory beauties would be just wonderful for brunch one day. The gruyere is perfect!
Thank you, Katherine! I hope you'll give these a try. 🙂
Gruyere is the most magical of all cheeses -- for me, anyway. 😉 LOVE it, and it's always so fantastic in savory baking. Great recipe! 🙂 ~Valentina
We love it too, Valentina! And it melts so beautifully. Thanks so much!
I've been thinking about these scones ever since you posted them on IG the other day. I know these would be a hit in my house. Love gruyere and always try to have fresh chives on hand. These would be perfect for weekend brunching!
Thank you, Leanne! I hope you'll try them!
I am a huge fan of savoury - especially cheesy - scones, and this variation looks and sounds fantastic! In fact, I love my savoury cheese scone with a little of jam (Like peach or apricot) on it, and these guys would be perfect for this (Well, that probably won't work that great with chives). Delicious!
What a great idea to add a little sweetness to these, Ben! Apricot or peach jam / preserves would be perfect!
Our chives grow crazy every year. We seriously have so much, I don't know what to do with it all! But now I know one thing that I need to make...these savoury scones! Love the combo and I just really wish I could grab one through my screen right now. Delish (and pinned)!
I know what you mean, Dawn. Chives are one of the few things we can grow here in the high desert, lol! Hope you love these!
I LOVE scones Marissa! Sweet or savory. And add some nutty Gruyere and I'm all in. Can't wait to give your recipe a try!
Love to hear that. Thank you, Mary Ann!
I love scones of all types, too! Adding cheese to scones is a favorite here, and we'll make something similar to serve alongside a salad for a light summer meal. I've never tried gruyere though, so I'm putting that on the list of things to make...hopefully sooner than later!
Wonderful! Thanks, David.
I like the idea of these scones to accompany a soup which would make them the perfect dinner for chilly weather 😀
Thank you, Lorraine. Me too... 🙂
How gorgeous these scones! I wish I could grab a few of them for the dinner!
Thanks Angie.
i've never tried to prepare scones with cheese... they seems so good, i have a dinner with friends tomorrow and i'll prepare them!!! Thank you for the idea!
They are so good - I'm not sure now whether I prefer scones savory or sweet.
How wonderful that you adapted these scones Marissa! The whole wheat idea with gruyere is perfect, just the thing to snack on. Originally they were made with sour cream, I just didn´t have any the day I made them so I used cream. Jalapeños or roasted garlic, that´s just fantastic!
Thank you for the inspiration Paula!
What gorgeous layers of flaky dough! These look so wonderful. As much as I love summer (and we're getting quite the delayed summer in the PNW, which is always a wonderful treat), I always welcome the chill of fall and the change in cooking it brings. These scones are definitely going to make an appearance in my kitchen.
Hooray for long summers! It's the same in Bend - just wish we could get rid of the smoke. Hope you love the scones. 🙂