Bake
by: Emma Laperruque
April4,2018
4.5
8 Ratings
- Prep time 45 minutes
- Cook time 10 minutes
- Makes 8 large scones
Jump to Recipe
Author Notes
Spinach and feta, dill and scallion, lemon zest and black pepper. These savory scones were inspired by Posie Harwood's Cheesy Kale ones. You can make the dough, cut into wedges, wrap well, and freeze for a couple weeks. Just take out of the freezer while the oven preheats, then add a few more minutes to the bake time. —Emma Laperruque
Test Kitchen Notes
Featured in: A Cheesy, Savory Scone That Wants to Be Spanakopita —The Editors
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- 3 cupsall-purpose flour (384 grams)
- 1/4 cupsugar (50 grams)
- 2 1/4 teaspoonsbaking powder
- 3/4 teaspoonbaking soda
- 1/2 teaspoonkosher salt
- 1 garlic clove, minced or Microplaned
- 1 teaspoonlemon zest (about 1 small lemon)
- 3/4 cupunsalted butter (170 grams), cubed, cold
- 2 1/2 cupsbaby spinach (90 grams)
- 1 cupcrumbled feta (156 grams)
- 4 scallions, finely chopped (heaping 1/2 cup, 50 grams)
- 1/2 cupchopped dill (9 grams)
- 1 pinchfreshly ground black pepper, plus more for topping
- 1 pinchred pepper flakes
- 3/4 cupbuttermilk, plus more as needed
- 1 large egg, beaten with a fork
- 2 pinchesflaky salt
Directions
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic, and lemon zest in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Sprinkle the butter evenly on top, then pulse until the butter is the size of big blueberries. Err on the side of under- versus over-processing—if there are any stray, oversized butter pieces, just break up with your fingers. (You could also do this step with a pastry cutter, fork, or by hand! Just be wary of the butter getting too warm.)
- Dump this mixture into a big bowl and stick in the freezer or fridge while you prep and assemble the rest of your ingredients. When they’re at the ready, add the spinach, feta, scallions, dill, pepper, and pepper flakes to the flour-butter mixture. Fold with a rubber spatula until combined. Add 3/4 cup buttermilk and fold again until a dough starts to form (I like to switch from spatula to hand after a couple folds). Stick back in the fridge or freezer and let rest for a few minutes—the flour will start to drink up the liquid—while you preheat the oven to 400° F and line a baking sheet with parchment, foil, or a silicone baking mat.
- Give the dough another couple folds by hand and see if it wants more buttermilk. Add tablespoon by tablespoon—I added 2 more—until the dough just holds together.
- Dump onto a clean work surface or cutting board. Use your hands to bring it together and pat into a circle—9-inch diameter, 1-inch height. (The dough being perfectly cohesive or the circle being perfectly sized is less important than the dough being overworked!) Cut into 8 triangles.
- Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet. Brush each with the egg—covering the tops and sides—then plenty of black pepper and a bit of flaky salt.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the tray and lower the oven to 350° F. Bake for another 16 or so minutes until the scones are very colorful. Cool before eating—at least until warm to the touch. I like them best at room temperature.
Tags:
- Quick Bread
- Pastry
- American
- Greek
- British
- Green Onion/Scallion
- Feta
- Dill
- Spinach
- Buttermilk
- Cheese
- Bake
See what other Food52ers are saying.
-
frecklywench
-
lgoldenhar
-
Donna Carpentier
-
Hollis Ramsey
-
Emma Laperruque
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.
25 Reviews
Faye July 31, 2022
Excellent, I prepared them and froze them instead of baking them immediately. I took them out a few at a time when friends came over for coffee. Fantastic and impressive, quick to put out for friends. I did make a few modifications I chopped the spinach in the food processor after I took the flour mixture out, they seemed to hold together better. I made them full size but the next time I patted them into a mini scone pan, froze and released them from the pan and put them in a freezer bag. For the mini scones I reduced the temperature to 375- and 325-degrees F. since they were cooked frozen the timing worked well.
frecklywench April 11, 2020
These are one of our all-time favorites! I've decided I prefer with just a tablespoon or two of sugar—and have successfully used all manner of buttermilk substitutions and different greens when spinach was not on hand. They come together so quickly and are perfect complement to a bowl of soup!
Kathy H. October 5, 2019
I made these again recently, but realized at the last minute that I was out of feta and goat cheese. I subbed in a sharp cheddar and the flavors still worked deliciously. If I were to make that substitution again I would cut the cheese into small dice, rather than shredding, to get those oozing pockets of yumminess that feta imparts.
Emma L. October 5, 2019
Mmmm spinach and cheddar sounds great!
GiGi October 5, 2019
I have made these twice and absolutely love the recipe! They are full of flavors distinct and perfectly savory. I have never had a better scone. I used chopped fresh spinach and weighed only the vegetables and cheese. The rest of the ingredients I used dry cup and wet cup accordingly. I needed 2Tablespoons additional buttermilk. They came out perfect both times. Also, I don't eat egg so I brushed the tops with a little buttermilk and then toped with salt flakes and cracked pepper. They were so good I had a hard time sharing!
Emma L. October 5, 2019
So glad you love the recipe—thanks, GiGi!
lgoldenhar January 20, 2019
I thought these were great. I used the weight measurements and they may be slightly off. I needed much more buttermilk than what was written (1 1/4-1/2 cup). I also skipped the egg wash.
Valpuri S. January 18, 2019
There were just amazing! I cut them small and got about 24 mini scones. They baked for about 7 minutes at 400 plus 10 minutes at 350 and came out great. They were a huge hit at our work coffee break.
Emma L. January 18, 2019
Thanks, so glad to hear it! And love the idea of mini scones!
billy August 30, 2018
These are awesome. My husband said they were the best scones he's ever eaten and he is not one to throw compliments out around willy nilly. I added some sun-dried tomatoes as well and they were so good. We ate the whole batch in a day and only felt a little ashamed of ourselves.
Emma L. September 4, 2018
Thank you, Billy! And thanks to your husband, too :) Sun-dried tomatoes sound soooooo good.
Donna C. August 12, 2018
So beautiful and delicious. I, too, used goat cheese because i didn't have feta. Once the oven was lowered to 350 it took much longer than 16 minutes (more like 30). Thanks for including weights for measurements!
Emma L. August 12, 2018
Thanks for reporting back, Donna! Glad to hear you liked them and that the goat cheese substitution worked well!
Carol July 15, 2018
I made these as breakfast to take on a road trip with some friends, and they were so, so delicious. I did pat the dough out into a rectangle and fold it a few times to get a little 'lamination' going, put them in the freezer for 20 min before baking, and they came out so tall and lovely! Will definitely be making again, and will likely freeze some and see how they bake up frozen!
Emma L. July 15, 2018
Awesome! So glad to hear that.
Hollis R. June 7, 2018
this is the first scone recipe i'm DYING to make. Polly's version is the second. i'm all about the savory!
polly April 14, 2018
do chop the spinach?
Emma L. April 14, 2018
Hi Polly—you could but no need! (I didn’t.)
cindy April 13, 2018
Would love to try these, but I detest feta! Weird I know. Any suggestions for a cheese that would work ok?
Emma L. April 13, 2018
I bet goat cheese would be lovely!
cindy April 13, 2018
I will try it, I love goat cheese! And I have baby spinach ready to pick in the garden:))
BakerRB April 6, 2018
Just made these and they're are delicious. Fingers crossed enough last to have with split pea soup for dinner.
Kathy H. April 5, 2018
I cannot wait to pair these with a bowl of soup!
C April 5, 2018
Delicious! Made these tonight, added in a little sliced pancetta and they were a total PARTY!
Emma L. April 5, 2018
Yay! Pancetta makes everything better.
