Savory Christmas Scones

Serves: 12 to 16

Ingredients

2 1⁄2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour*
2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
3⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1⁄2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated zucchini, squeezed dry
2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
1 1⁄4 cups plus 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream, divided
Garnish: ground pink peppercorns

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cheese, zucchini, and bell pepper. Stir in 1 1⁄4 cups cream until a shaggy dough begins to form. Using hands, bring mixture together until a dough forms.
Turn out dough on to a lightly floured surface*, and knead gently until smooth by patting dough and folding it in half 5 to 7 times. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to a 1⁄2- to 3⁄4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1⁄4-inch round cutter dipped in flour*, cut as many scones as possible without twisting cutter, rerolling scraps once. Place scones 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
Brush tops of scones with remaining 1 tablespoon cream. Garnish with a sprinkle of ground peppercorns, if desired.
Bake until scones are golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.

Notes

*We had good results with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour and King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour.

Using conventional flour instead of gluten-free flour: Replace gluten-free flour with an equal amount of all-purpose flour, and follow the recipe, but only add enough of the cream mixture for a dough to begin to form. (If dough is too wet, scones will spread out instead of rising properly.) Since conventional flour has gluten, be sure to handle the dough gently, or the scones will be tough. Bake as indicated in the recipe.

Recipe by TeaTime Magazine at https://teatimemagazine.com/savory-christmas-scones/