Caramelized Onion and Cheddar Beer Bread Scones
User Reviews
5
Caramelized Onion and Cheddar Beer Bread Scones
Description
This recipe starts by slowly caramelizing diced sweet onions in butter until deeply browned and flavorful, requiring up to 2 hours on low heat with regular stirring to avoid burning. The dry ingredients then mix all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, dried chives, dried thyme, salt, and pepper. Cold butter is cut into the flour to form coarse crumbs before grating sharp Irish cheddar cheese into the mixture.
Beer serves as the liquid ingredient, adding moisture and subtle flavor complexity. The dough is combined gently to preserve tenderness, shaped into scones, and brushed with heavy cream before baking at 425°F on a parchment-lined baking sheet. The result is scones with a golden crust and a tender, rich interior with savory notes from the onions and herbs.
These scones are suitable for breakfast, brunch, or as a side to soups or salads. They offer a satisfying blend of sweet caramelized onions and sharp cheese with the subtle earthiness from chives and thyme. The recipe requires patience for the onion preparation but delivers depth of flavor through this step.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter unsalted
- 2 sweet onion diced, large
- salt kosher salt
- black pepper kosher salt
- 3 ¼ all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon chives dried
- 1 teaspoon thyme dried
- ¾ cup butter cut into pieces, cold
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese freshly grated, sharp, Irish
- 1 ½ cups beer
- heavy cream for brushing
Instructions
- Heat the 1/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes, until the onions are soft and begin to brown. Turn the heat down to low (or medium-low, if low isn’t cooking them), and cook, stirring often, until the onions are dark brown and caramely, anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, depending on how much you want to babysit them. This will take a while, but the onions are in smaller pieces, so are also more apt to burn. Keep an eye on them and stir often, reducing the heat when needed. Add a splash of water to the pan if it gets dry at any time.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, a few pinches of black pepper, baking powder and soda. Stir in the dried chives and thyme. Using your fingers, a fork or a pastry blender, cut in the ¾ cups cold butter until it forms coarse crumbs. Stir in the sharp cheddar and caramelized onions. Stir in the beer. Stir with a spoon until a dough forms, using your hands to bring it together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently.
- Divide the dough in half and pat each into 5-inch round circles. Brush each round of dough with cream.
- Cut each round into 4 or 6 slices, or use a biscuit cutter to make rounds. Bake the scones for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops are slightly golden. Serve with salted butter for spreading.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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