Anne Morgan Delia Smith’s mini savoury scones, about 28 from one batch, are bite-sized cheese scones made with Parmesan, Cheddar, fried onion and black olives. You rub butter into spiced self-raising flour, stir in the onion, olives and cheese, then cut small rounds and bake them at 200°C. They are ready in about 40 minutes, start to finish.
Tiny Cheese, Onion and Olive Scones is her own name for them, from The Delia Collection: Baking (2003), and her website files them with canapés. She thinks they are so moreish that your guests could never stop at just one.
For a sit-down tea rather than a party, her full-size cheese scones use Cheshire cheese and chives instead. These little ones are cut with a 3cm cutter, so one batch fills a big plate for a crowd.
Delia Smith’s Mini Cheese Scones
Course: StarterCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy28
servings20
minutes20
minutes50
kcalBite-sized savoury scones with Parmesan, Cheddar, caramelised onion and olives, made for parties.
Ingredients
- For the scones:
175g self-raising flour, plus a little extra for rolling
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
black pepper
25g butter, at room temperature
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 black olives, pitted and chopped
40g Parmesan, grated
40g mature Cheddar, grated
1 large egg, beaten
2-3 tablespoons milk, plus a little for brushing
Directions
- Oven: Heat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas mark 6. Grease a baking sheet lightly.
- Onion: Fry the onion in the oil over a highish heat for 5 to 6 minutes, keeping it moving. Stop when it is a brown caramel colour and dark at the edges, then tip it on to a plate to cool.
- Dry mix: Sift the flour, salt, mustard powder and cayenne into a large bowl and add a good grinding of black pepper. Rub in the butter.
- Mix: Fork in the cooled onion, the olives and two-thirds of the cheeses. Add the egg, mixing with a knife and then your hands, with only enough milk to make a soft dough that is not too sticky.
- Roll: Knead the dough gently on a lightly floured surface until smooth, then roll it out about 2cm thick.
- Cut: Place a 3cm plain cutter lightly on the dough and give it a sharp tap. Re-roll the trimmings and cut again.
- Bake: Brush the scones with milk and top them with the rest of the cheese. Bake near the top of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, then cool them on a wire rack.
Notes
- The black pepper matters here, because Delia says these scones need a "piquant bite".
FAQs
Which cheese is best for mini cheese scones?
Two cheeses go into these scones, 40g of Parmesan and 40g of mature Cheddar, both grated. Two-thirds of them go into the dough, and the rest is sprinkled over the tops just before baking.
If you are cooking for vegetarians, her website points out that a vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese is available. That way the whole batch is vegetarian.
How brown should the onion be for mini savoury scones?
Fry it in hot oil until it turns a deep caramel brown and darkens at the edges, which takes Delia 5 or 6 minutes. Keep it moving in the pan the whole time, so it colours without burning.
Then spread it on a plate and let it cool completely. Only once it is cold does it go into the flour with the olives and cheese.
How thick should mini scones be?
Delia rolls the dough about 2cm thick and warns against rolling it too thinly. Then she stamps the scones out with a small 3cm plain cutter, giving it one sharp tap each time.
Knead the trimmings together lightly and roll them out again. That way you get about 28 little scones from one batch.
Can I make mini savoury scones ahead?
Yes, they freeze superbly once cooked, Delia says. Defrost them first, then re-heat them in a hot oven for about 4 minutes before serving.
If you bake them on the day instead, let them cool, split them and spread a little herb cheese or a creamy blue cheese inside. Then warm them in a hot oven just before your guests arrive.
Can I make feta and olive scones instead?
Yes, her Winter Collection has Feta, Olive and Sun-dried Tomato Scones, which make 12 bigger scones for tea-time or with soup. They use olive oil instead of butter, worked into 175g of self-raising flour and 50g of wholewheat flour with a little baking powder.
Into that go 75g of cubed Feta, 10 chopped black olives, 50g of sun-dried tomatoes and some fresh thyme, bound with an egg and milk. Roll the dough 2.5cm deep, cut 5cm rounds and top each one with crumbled Feta.
Then bake them on the highest shelf at 220°C for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden. Her later books make them with sun-blush tomatoes instead of sun-dried.
