Maple Sugar Bacon, Cheddar & Rosemary Scones

ByBluebonnet Baker
32 Comments

I can hardly believe it. In just a few short days, my nephew Davey enters Kindergarten for the first time. I'm so excited, freaked out, flabbergasted - and I'm just his aunt! I can't imagine how my sister is feeling about all of this.

Since removing high fructose corn syrup from the kids' diet earlier this summer, she and my brother in law have seen a remarkable change in them both. But doing so also means that breakfast times are a little bit more plan-ahead than they used to be. After all - no more pop-tarts!

Two weeks ago, I ventured into New York City with Aimee from Simple Bites and Tracy from Sugarcrafter. We decided to do a self-designed trip through NYC, one blissful bite of food at a time.

Aimee quickly came up with the idea to start off at Clinton Street Baking Company, where we gorged on freshly made biscuits and pancakes, and one thing I could not stop eating - their sugar cured bacon.

So this past weekend, I decided to recreate it. Never one to leave well enough alone, I thought, "What can I put this INTO?" - and of course, the answer was pretty obvious: scones.

Savory breakfast scones that you can grab on the way out the door at room temperature, or after a quick warm up in the microwave or oven. They transport to the car easily (or booster seat, as the case may be!).

Davey isn't the only one going to school this Fall. His mama recently decided to go back too, for an advanced degree.

This is the kind of heartwarming breakfast I'd make for Davey and his mama on their first day of school if I could. I hope his mama tries, even though I know baking's totally not her thing. But her kids ARE her thing, and she'd do anything for them.

Good luck, Sis - and Davey - with school this Fall.

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Shenandoah Growers Organic Fresh Herbs.

Maple Sugar Bacon, Cheddar, and Rosemary Scones

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Sugar
4 tablespoons frozen Butter (½ stick)
1 cup ½" cubed super sharp Cheddar (I used KerryGold Aged Cheddar)
1 cup cooked, chopped Maple Sugar Bacon (Sugar and Maple Sugar required)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Rosemary

¾ cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Start by making the bacon. Fill a plate with a mixture of sugar and maple sugar (or just sugar, if you prefer), roughly ½ cup of each, or 1 cup of sugar. Using ½ lb. of super thick cut bacon, coat each piece of bacon in the sugars mixture.

Place each bacon strip on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. To make cleanup easy, also place a cookie cooling rack on the tray, and lay the bacon on top of that. The fat will fall below the cooling rack and allow the bacon to crisp on all sides. Bake the bacon for roughly 27 minutes, until crisp.

Remove bacon from the oven and blot with a paper towel. Allow it to cool. Do not place bacon on a piece of paper towel - the caramelized sugar will cause the paper towel to adhere to the bacon.

Once bacon is cool, cut each strip into bite-size pieces.

For the Scones

Increase oven temperature to 425F.

Combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk well to combine. Using a cheese grater, grate frozen butter into the flour mixture and stir to combine.

Add cheese, bacon and rosemary to flour-butter mixture and stir to distribute. Now add cream and stir until the dough comes together in a shaggy mass.

Move dough to a parchment lined baking sheet and form into a 7" flat disc. Cut disk into 8 wedges and separate, roughly 2" apart on baking sheet.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.

[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Maple Sugar Bacon, Cheddar & Rosemary Scones - - - [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]

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32 Comments

  1. Love the flavors in these scones. I don't make scones nearly enough!

  2. These look like perfection.

    My son starts school Wednesday...will you be making us scones? 🙂

    1. Rachel, they're so perfect. I was really excited about the crumb on the scone. I think you're going to love them.

  5. I was excited about these! Well really the bacon. I had no idea you were gonna take it up a notch and add scones to the equation!!! The sound amazing!!! I love scones.

    1. Girl, that bacon is all kinds of insane. You better make it, stat - and then if there's any left over, make the scones!

  6. Ummmmm, so yeah, what time will you be over to bring these? AND you used KerryGold? I need these.

    1. I *always* use KerryGold if I can help it. With a Brit in the house, it's kind of required. Sadly these are long gone, but we could make another batch together when I get there!

  7. Maple bacon in scones. Words dear to my heart! With some cheese too? I'll repeat another reader...What a scone!

  8. You are a woman after my own heart, putting that bacon into these amazing scones. 😉 I can't wait to try the bacon myself, and I'm definitely going to put whatever I don't eat like candy into the scones!!

    1. That is, if you can manage not to eat all the Meat Candy. I struggled, I really did, to have enough left over for the scones - and I made an entire package!

  9. These look amazing and must be made ASAP!
    I am in NYC and love the Clinton Street Baking Company! Some of my fav foodie travels are in that area!

      1. Amber, that would be great!
        And Economy Candy and Russ & Daughter and Katz's for lunch and the Essex Street Market!
        Ohboyohboyohboy!

    1. I love the phrase "Good Gravy" - such a Southern thing to say 😉 Let me know if you make them, Heather. I'd love to hear how you like them.

  12. Scones are a favorite of mine and I love this savory version! Printed and plan to bake. By the way, just pulled a scone from the freezer this morning! Thanks!

    1. Bonnie, these would be great for the freezer. We could not stop eating them to get them in there though!

  15. Well, first of all, these look delicious. I love me some savory breakfast. 🙂

    I'm also curious--what sort of change did your sister and her husband notice after nixing the corn syrup? I've heard tell that it does make a difference, but I've never actually known anyone who's gone cold turkey on it. It's definitely something I'd like to learn more about.

    1. Tara - according to my sister, both kids are less "immediately" defiant, and David is able to focus on tasks for longer periods of time (He also has ADHD, inherited from his daddy, so this is a big deal). She also says they're both less "frenetic".

      1. That's interesting--I'm certainly glad for that for your sister's sake and her husband's. And I'm sure it's healthier, too!

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