Scones are most well known for being sweet or topped with butter jam or cream. Scones are a very versatile snack because they can be sweet or savoury, this is a savoury version. Some people would even call them a biscuit. Whatever you call them they are quick and easy to make, delicious and are a balanced, sugar free snack.

Ingredients

• 8oz all purpose flour
  
• 2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 ½ oz butter cold
  
• ¼ pint of milk
  
• 1 cup of grated cheese
  
• ¾ frozen chopped spinach
  
• 2-3 slices of ham chopped (or sliced in strips)
  
• 1 small onion or ½ a large onion
  
• parsley and chives chopped
  
• extra flour for dusting
  
  

Method

1. preheat your oven to approximately 400oF or 200oC
   
2. put a sheet of baking paper on your oven tray
   
3. bring approximately 1 inch of water to boil in a small pan
   
4. dice your onion quite finely (or slice) and add to the boiling water
   
5. sift flour into a mixing bowl and add the baking powder
   
6. chop your butter in small cubes and rub it into the flour mix with your fingers until the mix resembles bread crumbs
   
7. add your milk, a third at a time, mixing well with a fork or a round bladed knife in between additions, your dough will be quite sticky
   
8. by now your onions should be soft, add your frozen spinach to the onions to defrost it, when the spinach is defrosted (about a minute) drain the excess water off
   
9. take a good spoonful of the spinach and add it to your dough with a third of the cheese and your herbs
   
10. flour your hands and your board or work surface well
    
11. work the cheese and spinach and herbs into your dough, you don't actually need to knead it, just make sure it is more or less blended
    
12. the mix will be a soft dough not too sticky on the outside
    
13. roll the mix into a rectangle about ½ an inch thick, making sure it is not sticking to your work surface
    
14. spread the remaining spinach and onion mix, the chopped ham and another third of the grated cheese over the dough
    
15. roll the dough around the filling carefully starting from the long edge of the rectangle
    
16. cut into 1 ½ inch slices and place each slice on a baking tray so the spiral part is on the top
    
17. top each slice with a sprinkle of the remaining cheese and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden on top
    
    
    
    

Tips

• you can use the cheese of your choice, I generally use cheddar as my husband is a big fan. However feel free to experiment, or use the cheese your kids like most, as long as it is a good melting cheese
  
• you can replace the ham with bacon, if you do sauté the chopped onions with the bacon in a small fry pan, then you won't need to boil the onions. If you do this you may choose to defrost the spinach in the microwave
  
• you can use a food processor to mix the scone mix, I find it is quicker and less washing up to do it by hand, but it works the same
  
• add salt and pepper to taste in this recipe, I think the ham or bacon and the cheese has enough salt, but most people think savoury scones could use salt
  
• I have made a gluten free variety of this with garbanzo flour
  
  Depending on the age of your kids they will love helping you make this, my children are still quite young, so I usually make the dough first and involve them at the 'kneading' and rolling stage – remember scones are different from bread and don't require kneading, so it is a good chance to show the kids a more gentle touch to food. Don't worry too much about the neatness of the spirals if your kids are helping – it will all taste the same and the cheese on top helps hide any messy bits.