I had been thinking of making this for a while.  I had never seen “taco scones.”  I quick search on google & food.com‘s recipes came up with nothing outside of something called a Navajo Scone, which looked like taco stuff on navajo bread.  Mexican scones came up, but were usually chocolate/cinnamon or apple-somethings.  Anyway, I’m considering this a fairly novel concept, but I don’t know why.  They’re super easy, all of the ingredients are pretty basic, and it’s a classic combination of flavors.  For a Memorial Day / birthday party, I made…

Taco Scones

photo by emobiephotography

Makes 8-12 large scones

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 Tbl baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ Tbl black pepper
• 1 Tbl taco seasoning (plus add’l to top scones – I buy in the bulk section)
• 1 stick chilled unsalted butter (or Earth Balance, etc), cut into cubes
  freeze butter for 15 minutes for “chilled” butter
• 1 ½ cups grated medium/sharp cheddar cheese (or vegan substitute)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced small
• 2 jalapeno peppers, diced small
• 1 small can of sliced olives
• 1 lb soy crumbles, warmed & sautéed with taco seasoning
• ¾ to 1 cups buttermilk (or soy creamer / coconut milk / vegan buttermilk)
• ¼ to ½ cup cheddar cheese to top scones (or vegan substitute)
• 1 large egg for top glaze (optional)
• 2 tsp water for top glaze (optional)
• salsa, sour cream, guacamole (for dipping)

Preheat oven to 400°

Steps:

1. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or do by hand), combine flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper & taco seasoning in a large bowl on low speed.
2. With mixer running, gradually add cubes of butter until the mixture is crumbly and studded with flour – butter bits about the size of small peas.
3. Add 1 ½ cups grated cheese and mix just until blended.
4. Add peppers, soy crumbles, olives and 3/4 cup buttermilk to flour and cheese mixture.  Mix by hand just until all ingredients are incorporated.  If dough is too dry to hold together, use remaining buttermilk, adding 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is pliable and can be formed into a ball.  Stir as lightly and as little as possible to ensure a lighter-textured scone.
5. Remove dough from bowl and place it on a lightly floured flat surface.  Pat dough into a ball.  Using a well-floured rolling pin, flatten dough into a circle about 8 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick.  Cut dough into 8 to 10 equal wedges, depending on size scone you prefer.
6. Whisk egg and water in a small mixing bowl to combine.  Brush each wedge with egg wash.  Top with taco seasoning and the remaining ¼ to ½ cup cheddar cheese.
7. Place scones on a lined baking sheet and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown and no longer sticky in the middle.  Serve warm with salsa, sour cream and/or guacamole for dipping.

This will definitely be a repeat recipe!  Taco scones, “Mexiscones,” or whatever you want to call them – these savory scones are delicious.

This is a mainly music-based blog. If you stumbled in on a recipe search, check out my other recipes at THIS LINK.

~Dan – np: David Bazan – Strange Negotiations