TWICE-PEPPERED BACON AND BUTTERMILK SCONES WITH GOUDA

Twice-Peppered Bacon and Buttermilk Scones with Gouda image

Gold Medal® Flour Recipe Contest 2010!

Provided by Betty Crocker Kitchens

Time 40m

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

3 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter or regular butter, cut into small pieces
6 oz Gouda cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup cooked real bacon pieces
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Steps:

Heat oven to 425°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray, or grease with shortening. In large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, black pepper, salt and red pepper. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through mixture in opposite directions), until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in cheese, bacon and shallot.
In small bowl, beat buttermilk and egg with fork or whisk. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the buttermilk mixture. Stir remaining buttermilk mixture into crumb mixture; mix with floured hands until dough forms a ball. For tender scones, handle dough as little as possible.
Place dough on lightly floured surface. Pat dough into 8-inch round; cut into 8 wedges. Place wedges 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Brush with reserved buttermilk mixture.
Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 390, Carbohydrate 39 g, Cholesterol 85 mg, Fat 3, Fiber 1 g, Protein 13 g, SaturatedFat 12 g, ServingSize 1 Scone, Sodium 750 mg, Sugar 2 g, TransFat 1/2 g