Perfect for Festive Canapés!

It’s PARTY time, for most of us, whether it be the ubiquitous “Office Party” where photocopy machines are often abused and misused, or school and house parties; it’s that time of year when after a famine of social events, I rarely have an evening free now! With only 8 days to Christmas Eve, I thought today’s recipe for Mini Cheese Scones with Creamy Peppadew Spread was timely, for those harried cooks who are looking for new ideas for canapés this year. Last year I offered my readers FIVE canapé and appetiser recipes – It’s Party Time! A Fabulous Collection of Canapés & Party Food Recipes – and as part of the festive mix of small bites and amuses bouche were these Mini Soda Bread Scones with Smoked Salmon and Chive Cream. They proved to be very popular, so when Peppadew Peppers UK asked me to create and develop some NEW festive recipes for their website, I turned to the idea I had last year for mini soda bread scones.

I changed the recipe to suit the addition of some delightfully tangy Peppadew® Mild Whole Sweet Piquanté Peppers; the scones have cheese added to them, and the spread is a creamy mascarpone cheese based filling with a wee bit of garlic added for extra flavour. One of the recipes I have already shared here and on the Pappadew Pepper website, is for Mini bruschetta with a Peppadew spread – that spread uses Peppadew® Piquanté Peppers stuffed with cheese as its base, so it’s a very different beast to today’s creamier and sweeter spread. The little cheese soda bread scones are a doddle to make and can be frozen once baked (and before being filled). That means you can get ahead with this recipe and have a couple dozen scones tucked away on the freezer ready for impromptu parties and/or organised festive gatherings.

I used an extra mature Somerset Cheddar cheese in this recipe, as the richness marries so well with the sweet and creamy pepper filling, but DO use any cheese you may have lurking in the fridge, or any cheese that takes your fancy – although hard cheeses are best in this recipe. Split the scones in half as soon as they are cool and spread liberally with the creamy Peppadew and mascarpone filling. These are insanely good and we, as in the other half and I, managed to polish off three each in rapid succession as part of the “taste and test” procedure post baking and making! The recipe is shared below, along with links to my other Peppadew pepper recipes and also to other canapé and scone recipes on Lavender and Lovage. See you soon with tales of Ireland and Christmas Markets in Germany. Karen 

Disclaimer: Commissioned recipe development with Peppadew Peppers UK. This recipe uses Peppadew™ Roasted Red Peppers.

Mini Cheese Scones with Creamy Peppadew Spread

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Serves	18 to 24
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	10 minutes
Total time	20 minutes
Allergy	Milk, Wheat
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack, Starter
Misc	Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion	Birthday Party, Christmas, Easter, Formal Party, Thanksgiving, Valentines day
Region	British
By author	Karen Burns-Booth

Dainty little cheese scones with a creamy Peppadew pepper filling that are perfect for any special occasion buffet table savouries. I used Peppadew® Mild Whole Sweet Piquanté Peppers but if you like a little heat, then use the Peppadew® Hot Whole Sweet Piquanté Peppers instead. The scones can be frozen before filling.

Ingredients

scones

• 250g self raising flour
• 50g butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 75g grated mature cheddar cheese (plus extra for topping)
• 180mls buttermilk or skimmed milk
• salt to taste

spread

• 12 Peppadew® Mild Whole Sweet Piquanté Peppers
• 6 tablespoons Mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic granules (NOT garlic salt)

Note

Dainty little cheese scones with a creamy Peppadew pepper filling that are perfect for any special occasion buffet table savouries. I used Peppadew® Mild Whole Sweet Piquanté Peppers but if you like a little heat, then use the Peppadew® Hot Whole Sweet Piquanté Peppers instead. The scones can be frozen before filling.

Directions

Step 1	Scones: Pre-heat oven to 225C/450F/Gas mark 8. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Step 2	Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs then add the grated cheese and soda. Mix well before pouring the buttermilk in. Mix until it is soft and sticky, then turn out onto a well floured board.
Step 3	Gently push the dough down into a big square with floured hands, don't handle it too much, the stamp out 18 to 24 mini scones with a biscuit cutter.
Step 4	Scatter the tops of the scones with extra grated cheese and transfer them to the baking sheet.
Step 5	Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until they are well risen and very pale golden brown.
Step 6	Remove them from the oven and allow to cool before splitting them in half and filing them.
Step 7	Spread: make the spread by blending all the ingredients together with a hand blender until smooth; place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill and firm up.
Step 8	Spoon the spread onto one half of the split scones, then replace the other half of the scone at an angle, so you can see the filling and serve.
Step 9	The scones can be made ahead of time and frozen.

As part of my creative collaboration with Peppadew Peppers, I have created the following recipes, some have been shared already on Lavender and Lovage, and some are to come very soon……….

For breakfast:

Ham and Egg Peppadew Pepper Cups

For Snacking:

Mini Bruschetta with Peppadew Pepper Spread

For Salad Days:

Kale and Peppadew Pepper Salad with a Creamy Dressing and Hazelnuts

For Leftovers:

Bubble and Squeak with Peppadew Peppers

For Family Suppers:

Festive Roast Pumpkin and Peppadew Pepper Lasagne

Lavender and Lovage Scone Recipes:

Mincemeat Scones for the Christmas Tea Time Table

Fresh Blueberry Scones

Old-Fashioned Rose Lemonade Scones

Cheese and Spring Onion Scones

Banana Bread Scones with Brown Sugar Glaze

Canapé Ideas:

Verrines of Brussels Sprout Velouté (Creamy Brussels Sprouts Soup)

Mini Yorkshire Puddings with Spiced Red Cabbage and Ham

Stilton and Walnut Open Danish Sandwich Toasts with Cranberry Relish

Mini Clementine Jelly Trifles