Cheesy Prosciutto Scones
Cheesy prosciutto scones are exactly what you’re picturing. Savory scones loaded with cheese and prosciutto to create a rich, and flavorful breakfast treat.
I’ve made semi-savory scones before. Goat cheese & hot honey, and apple cheddar. But these are really first (and maybe only) truly savory scone. I love scones, but I really just see them as a sweet pastry. I like to save savory flavors for biscuits. This is not a widely held belief or rule, just a personal one. Feel free to agree or disagree. But cheese knows no bounds so it must also be added to scones.
I wanted to try making sort of an elevated ham and cheese scone. Ham is fine, but prosciutto is better. Plus I have prosciutto and gouda rolls which are a crowd pleaser and something I often bring as an appetizer so I figured, why not try it in a scone?
Baking Notes & Tips
Making scones might seem intimidating, but it really isn’t. Especially if you’ve ever made American biscuits. The key is working quickly and keeping your ingredients cold. If you have never made scones before, my Best Vanilla Cream Scones recipe has a lot of useful information and tips in the blog post.
I left the type of cheese vague in naming these cheesy prosciutto scones on purpose. You can use your cheese of choice – with some notes. I’d keep it to a hard or grateable cheese. I chose gouda as it is melty with good flavor but not overpowering but Cheddar, Gruyere, Pepper jack, Mozzarella, or Fontina (among others) would all also work. If you want to use a softer cheese like goat cheese, I’d use my goat cheese scone recipe and add prosciutto.
Prosciutto likes to stick together so try as best as possible when sprinkling it into the dough to separate any chunks that formed while dicing.
Cheesy Prosciutto Scones Key Ingredients
- Butter – As with all scones, butter is a huge part of the flavor. If you can splurge and getting some butter with a higher butterfat ratio these will taste a bit better. Not to worry though, I test all my scones with store brand butter to make sure that as a baseline the flavor is fantastic.
- Prosciutto – If you can’t find prosciutto, ham will work in a pinch but check the specialty area in the deli because prosciutto is unmatched when it comes to flavor.
- Heavy Cream – We are sparing no expense when it comes to flavor in these scones. Flavor, often times comes from fat so heavy cream is what we need. If you can get some from a local dairy or farm EVEN BETTER!
Ingredients
- 285 g (2½ cups) AP Flour
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) Sea Salt
- 12 g (1 tbsp) Granulated Sugar
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- 113 g (4 oz) Cheese
- 113 g (½ cup) Unsalted butter cold/semi-frozen
- 40 g (2 oz) Prosciutto diced
- 1 large Egg cold, beaten
- 155 g (â…” cup) Heavy Whipping Cream cold
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment, set aside. Place your butter in the freezer for about 20 minutes to help firm up.
- In a medium-large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and mix until combined.285 g AP Flour | 1 tsp Sea Salt | 12 g Granulated Sugar | 2 tsp Baking Powder | ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- Grate your butter into the flour mix. Fluff the butter into the dry ingredients.113 g Unsalted butter
- Added your grated cheese and mix/fluff into the dry ingredients similarly to the butter.113 g Cheese
- Create a well in the center of your dry ingredients and pour your egg and heavy cream into the center. I always start with the minimum amount of liquid for the cream and add more if necessary. Start with the â…” cup, and if there is too much dry flour add small tsp amounts in the dry spots and mix in. Your dough should still be pretty dry, it shouldn't be wet so add only if necessary.1 large Egg | 155 g Heavy Whipping Cream
- When dough is rough, add your chopped prosciutto and mix throughout the dough. Then use your hands to bring the dough more into a mass in the center of the bowl. Press it into a disc like shape, and fold the dough over onto itself. Repeat 2-3 more times.40 g Prosciutto
- Move dough to your lined baking sheet and press into a disc that's about 1-1½ inch thick.
- Using a bench scraper or a knife, cut straight down (don't use a sawing motion) and cut your dough into 8 wedges.
- Separate the dough leaving 1-2 inches space between the scones.
- Place your scones into the freezer (or fridge if you don't have space in your freezer) and preheat your oven to 425°F.
- When your oven has come to temperature, remove scones from freezer. Brush the tops with heavy cream before they go into the oven.
- Place your scones on the middle rack of your oven and reduce the temperature to 375 immediately. Bake for 18-21 minutes. Scones will be well browned on top and bottom, remove to a wire cooling rack.
- Let scones cool for about 15-20 minutes before enjoying. Scones are best the day of baking but can be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days and reheated in the oven in foil.
