Sausage & Cheddar Cheese Scones

Flaky, buttery & loaded with cheese & sausage these are perfect for breakfast or paired with a big bowl of soup! Change up the ingredients to suit your taste- I've made them with cheddar & dill, you could do jalapeno & colby jack, or cheddar & spring onion. You can make sweet versions with raisins, cranberries, or even chocolate chips! Don't be nervous about making the biscuit like treats, I'll show you how easy it is! Ingredients:

1 lb Breakfast Sausage

4 cups All Purpose Flour (plus more for rolling)

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1/2 lb Sharp, Yellow Cheddar Cheese, diced small

3/4 lb cold Butter (3 sticks)

4 Eggs (plus 1 for the egg wash)

1 cup Heavy Cream

Directions:

Cook your sausage in a skillet, until fully cooked. Drain to remove the fat. Set aside to cool.

Small dice your cheese. You could shred it, but I like to have little cheesy 'pockets' throughout the scone. If you shred it, it will be blended into the dough more.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixture, fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, baking powder & salt.

Dice your cold butter. It is important to start with really cold butter. I actually put the sticks of butter in the freezer while I am getting the cheese & sausage ready.

Add the butter, on low speed & mix until it is pea size.

Beat the 4 eggs in a dish, then add the heavy cream & stir. Add the egg & cream mixture to the flour on low speed, just until blended.

Slowly add in (still on low speed) the sausage & cheese, until just incorporated. It will be lumpy & sticky! Get your counter top ready to roll the dough. I spread out some parchment paper & sprinkle flour over it.

Dump the dough out onto your floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough & flour your hands & your rolling pan. Knead by hand a couple of time, being careful not to handle too much. (Your hands are warm & you don't want to melt the butter in the dough.)

Roll out to about 3/4". Cut out in desired shape. You can simply use a knife or use biscuit or cookie cutters.

I cut some of mine into squares or rectangles & some I used a big biscuit cutter on. Place them on a sheet pan & brush with egg wash (1 beaten egg beaten with 1 tsp of water).

Bake in a preheated, 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Let them cool slightly before serving. These are wonderful left over, you can heat it up in about 10 seconds in the microwave. You can also freeze them for future breakfasts on the go!

Ummmm look at that cheesy pocket!! Impress your friends & family by bringing these to your next early morning tailgate party!!

I used a recipe in this book (given to me by a wonderful friend, Robin!), The Barefoot Contessa at Home for Cranberry Orange Scones as a base.