CURRENT OBSESSION: Apple Cheddar Scones

Woah woah WOAH Woah woah. Upon looking through my old posts to spruce them up with pictures--now that I FINALLY have all the relevant bits of gadgetry necessary to create, transfer, convert, and upload photographic evidence of my foodery--I have discovered that I NEVER MANAGED TO PUT UP THE APPLE CHEDDAR SCONE RECIPE.

Major. Fail.

If you've so much as brushed past my internet presence in the past three months you've probably heard me rave about these scones. If you've been in my actual presence, it's quite possible that I've baked them for you. (Really, it's less generosity and more a realization of the overwhelming guilt that ensues when one consumes an entire batch of scones in one sitting. Not that that's ever happened...)

The amazing Smitten Kitchen introduced me to them, of course, and I made my own little tweaks. SK calls them "October on a parchment-lined baking sheet," but I've been making them since waay past October, and I've never lined my baking sheets with parchment. Both choices have turned out pretty okay for me.*

Apple Cheddar Scones (Will Haunt You Forever)
2 firm apples (I used Galas most of the time, but that's just because they were around), cored, peeled, and chopped into small chunks
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 tbsp cubes
1/2 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Core and peel the apples, then chop them into smallish chunks. The original recipe called for them to be in 1/16ths, but those chunks seemed huge, and just had to be chopped down later. (Also, the smallish chunks cook faster. Bonus when you're really hungry for some sconey goodness.) Spread apple chunks evenly on a baking sheet and bake at the center of the oven for about 15 minutes, until dry to the touch and just beginning to turn goldeny brown. Remove from oven and cool completely, leaving oven on--if you're going to make the scones right away, that is. Turn it off otherwise. Sheesh.

Baked Apple Chunks--Health food, right?

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
With a pastry blender, cut in the cubes of chilled butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat in cream and one egg until just combined. Mix in the shredded cheese as well.

Chop up the apple chunks a bit more until you'd feel comfortable encountering them in a scone, then mix the chunks in as well. You should have a delightful, sticky mess on your hands, just forming a ball. Toss that onto a floured surface and flatten slightly, until you've formed a circle about 1" thick and 8" in diameter. Slice the circle into six wedges--or eight, if you're feeling generous. Place dough wedges onto greased baking sheets, leaving about 2" between them for spreading.
For an egg wash (which is optional, but quite tasty), beat together the remaining egg and a pinch of salt. Spread the mixture over the top of each scone. Sprinkle each washed scone with sugar. Or, if it's Christmas Eve morning, sprinkle them with sugar and Christmas sprinkles! Bake for about 30 minutes, until the scones are nice and golden. Then DEVOUR. Also share. You might as well get as many people to understand the addiction as possible...

If you are keeping them to yourself, though, freezing several of the dough wedges is a good idea--the scones are really best when eaten immediately, and it's great to have scones ready-for-baking in the freezer on a bleary morning...

*In case you're wondering, though, ovens get really angry at you if you try to substitute wax paper for parchment. It wasn't for this recipe--don't worry--but every mention of parchment paper in cooking makes me flash back to that experience. Eeesch, the smell...