Pear, Cheese & Walnut Scones

Finally, here is the scone recipe that I’ve been promising for the past few weeks. Ever since we got our Nordic Ware Nonstick Cast Aluminum Mini Scone Pan from William-Sonoma last month I’ve been working on thinking up the perfect recipe for our first batch of mini scones, and I definitely found it!

Since we adore pears and especially D’Anjou pears, and I knew that I wanted them to be the fruit featured in my scone recipe. Next walnuts (which are my favorite nut besides cashews, and most recently pistachios!) and finally to add a savory element to the recipe, cheese.

While there are so many semi-hard cheese options you can go with for this recipe (mozzarella, asiago, or even a soft cheese like brie) we had some delicious kasseri cheese from our Winter Charcuterie Board, which is very similar to mozzarella and very mild in flavor. Since we were using goat butter, I decided to go with a goat/sheep’s milk cheese to keep with the same flavor profile.

One of the many things I love about this particular scone recipe is how fluffy the scones are I really think skipping the egg for this recipe adds to the lightness of the scone (I’m not a fan of a heavy scone, and prefer more light and fluffy scones with an almost cake-like consistency). The other essential thing to creating a delicious scone is keeping your cold ingredients (butter and milk) cold right until you’re ready to use them.

While having a scone pan isn’t an absolute essential, I really couldn’t be more obsessed with our mini scone pan, and does keep your scones in a more uniform shape. Williams-Sonoma also has a Scottish Scone Pan if you want a larger scone.

“…but if there is one universal truth in the human experience, it is that a finely honed scone-eating palate does not just develop overnight.” — Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Inheritance Games

Pear, Cheese & Walnut Scones

Ingredients —

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup cold goat butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 cup Lactaid (whole) or regular whole milk
• 3/4 cup finely chopped D’Anjou Pear
• 1/2 cup grated Kasseri cheese (sheep/goat milk cheese) or goat mozzarella
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• Meyer Lemon Honey (Bees Knees, for drizzling over baked scones) – optional

Directions —

Preheat oven to 450. Stir together flour and baking powder. Mix butter into flour mixture using a stand mixer until the mixture looks like small peas. Place bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp whole milk, pear, cheese, and walnuts string by hand until the dry ingredients are just moistened.

Using a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop mixture into the Nordic Ware Nonstick Cast Aluminum Mini Scone Pan. Brush the tops of the scones with remaining whole milk until just moistened.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden.

Notes: If you are using regular unsalted butter, add 1/2 tsp salt to the dry mixture. Also, if you’re using cow’s milk cheese, mozzarella or another semi-hard cheese works well in this recipe. You don’t want a cheese that is too overpowering as these scones are meant to be light and delicious.