Sundried Tomato & Bacon Scones

A few weeks ago, I decided it was time to whittle down the magazine piles that had accumulated around the house.  And yes, I have to do this quite often.  I always have best intentions of staying orderly, but those intentions rarely come to fruition.  I make separate stacks: keepers (I haven't gotten rid of an issue of Saveur in 13 years) and recyclers (minus a few torn out pages and recipes).  Of course, then I'm left wondering what to do with the pages I ripped out to keep those from "accumulating".  Ugh.  One of the recipes I came across was from the March '10 issue of BHG.  Um...yeah...time sneaks up on me!  It was for some savory scones and combined bacon and dried tomatoes and herbs.  I wound up changing it a good amount, but the premise of this savory scone carried over into my batch.  They are fantastic.  As in, far too fantastic.  So fantastic, in fact, that I didn't want to tell anybody else just how fantastic they were.  Because really, they're not all that pretty, so they may be passed by for something more visually enticing.  So, as people skim over them, I will whisper their praises (hoping they won't hear me).  And then I will indulge in tender bites of rich, tangy tomatoes and salty, savory bacon accented by earthy herbs.  And I will be happy that nobody else took one.  Sheesh.  Selfish much!?

Sundried Tomato & Bacon Scones

from the kitchen of girlichef

yield: 12 scones

2½ oz. sundried tomatoes (dry pack), chopped

1¼ c. white whole wheat flour

1¼ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1 heaping Tbs. freshly chopped herbs (I used oregano, thyme, & rosemary)

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. sea salt

¾ c. cold butter, cut into chunks

¼ c. sour cream

2 large eggs

2 Tbs. buttermilk

2 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, optional

12 oz. bacon, cooked & crumbled

Preheat oven to 400° F. 

 Combine flours, baking powder, herbs, garlic powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Cut and pinch in the butter with your fingers until mixture forms coarse crumbs, about the size of peas.  Add chopped sundried tomatoes and about ¾ of the bacon* to the mixture and work in quickly with your hands.  Combine sour cream, eggs, and buttermilk in a small bowl, then add it to the large bowl.  Stir until just moist.  Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until the mixture just comes together.  The ideal amount of strokes for making scones is 12 or less (to keep them tender).  Divide dough in half and gently pat each dough into a circle.  Cut each circle into 6 wedges.

Transfer wedges to a lined cookie sheet (or sheets).  Slide into preheated oven and bake for ~12 minutes, quickly sprinkling cheese (if using) and remaining bacon over top of scones after the first 7 minutes.

*Alternately, you could add the cheese to the scones with the butter and just put all of the bacon inside.

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