Dinner Tonight: Ham and Cheese Scones with Bacon Gravy

Like any Fat Boy, I love biscuits and gravy.  I sometimes get tired of the same old thing though, so I decided to try taking biscuits and gravy up a level.  In place of biscuits I went with a savory scone filled with ham and cheddar cheese, and I smothered it in a classic bacon gravy.

The scones came out perfectly, with that dense bite you would expect from a good scone, and the addition of ham and cheese with black pepper kicked it up beyond any biscuit you've ever had.  The bacon gravy's classic richness paired with the saltiness of the bacon really highlighted the ham of the scone.

There are few things that can beat a classic biscuit, but I think this combination is going to be seeing a repeat in our kitchen for a while.

Ham and Cheese Scones

YIELD

 6 Scones

ACTIVE TIME

 12

TOTAL TIME

 30

INGREDIENTS

• • 1 cup of diced ham (I cut two 1/4-1/3-inch thick slices off of a ham we had in the fridge and diced those. Cut the slices into 1/4-inch strips and then cut the strips into 1/4-inch dice)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
  • 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cup milk

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Heat the oven to 400°F.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
  3. Using a pastry cutter, or your fingers, cut in the butter until you have pea-sized pieces that are well combined with the flour mixture.
  4. Add the cheese, green onions, ham, and pepper and combine well.
  5. Add 1 cup of milk and work just until it becomes a sticky dough, adding more milk as needed, up to 1 1/2 cups. Stop once the dough has come together, do not overwork.
  6. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a flattened circle, about 3/4-inch thick. Cut into wedges and transfer to a greased or parchmented baking sheet., leaving some space between each wedge.
  7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, checking for doneness by busting one open. They are done when they are golden and the inside is flaky.
  8. Move to a wire rack to cool briefly then eat away!

Bacon Gravy

1lb Bacon, diced

1/3 cup Flour

3 cups Milk

1 Tablespoon fresh ground pepper

nstructions:

1. Put diced bacon in cold deep frying pan on Medium-High heat
2. Cook until browned
3. Remove bacon, leaving grease
4. Add flour to bacon grease, cooking until just browned.
5. Add milk, stirring constantly until gravy thickens
6. Return bacon to gravy, folding into gravy gently
7. Add pepper and serve over scone or biscuit