American Cheese Scones - and the Tasmanian CWA

my cheesy doodle!

Last time we were in Tasmania, I found this fabulous book The 21st Birthday Cookery Book by the women of the Country Women's Association of Tasmania.  The book was first published in 1957, so as you can imagine, there are some fascinating old recipes in here.  It is ring-bound for easy handling; you can turn the whole book inside out if you feel so inclined!  So very sensible of the ladies:)  

I try to collect regional cookbooks wherever I go, as the old-fashioned culinary arts are in danger of dying out (even with the advent of celebrity chefs and Masterchefs). Another favourite of mine is also from Tasmania - The Lighthouse Cookbook; another great read from the ladies of Tasmania.  Nothing better than baking, on a cold wintry day in Tassie!

Last week I made our friend Pam's grandmum's scones; this week I wanted to try this recipe for American Cheese Scones.  Miss PP grew up in the USA (her Aussie mum married an American serviceman during the Second World War and went to live there), so she has a delightfully soft American accent, and a very charming manner.   So I thought of her when I saw this recipe, which though mostly made in the traditional way, has a few quirks of its own!  


ingredients:

240g. self-raising flour (Mrs. CWA lady says 1/2 lb.)
pinch of sea salt
1 large tbs butter
1/2 cup (125 mls) milk
1 egg
1/2 cup (115g.) butter
1 cup (110g.) grated tasty cheddar-type cheese
1/2-1 tsp mustard (I used my home-made grain mustard)
pinch of cayenne pepper - make it a big one if you like a bit of heat

Method:

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl
Rub in the butter with your fingertips till it looks like breadcrumbs
Whisk the egg lightly into the milk
Pour it into the flour mixture
Mix to a soft dough with a knife or spatula 
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead slightly
Pat it out with your hands till about 1 cm thick - you should end up with an oval/rectangular shape about 20 cm x 30 cm
Cut into rounds - use a cookie cutter or drinking glass
Place on a lined baking tray
Melt the butter in a small saucepan
Throw in the cheese, mustard and cayenne
Stir over a low heat till the cheese starts to melt
Take it off the heat and stir madly till it all comes together in a cheesy, buttery gloop
Spoon over the top of each scone - about 1.5 tbs per scone (I had some left over as I didn't want my scones to drown)
Bake at 220C for about 15 minutes till golden

I have taken a few liberties with the recipe as given.  Mrs. L. Barnes of Longford, the putative author, has neglected to tell us what kind of flour to use so I have decided to use self-raising as per most scone recipes.  This book uses imperial measurements, where a cup is 285 mls, rather than the modern Australian one of 250 mls. I have chosen to stick to modern measurements!  She also forgot to mention what happens to the milk and egg, so I made an executive decision as to when and how to add them. And finally, I doubled the mustard and cayenne.  They were unexpectedly delicious! Mr P. immediately had about 6 for his lunch.  I think I may have eaten a few myself just quietly.

ingredients

whisking milk and egg together 

adding it to the flour and butter mixture   

mixing to a soft dough with a knife    

patting it out to about 1 cm thickness    

cutting out shapes with a cookie cutter

cut out and ready for a cheesy topping  

melting the butter and cheese together 

spooning over the cheesy mix  

realising I had to line the tray before baking:)    

beautiful and golden

Mr P.'s washing up - he insisted I put in this photo:)  It does look cute in the sun   

A few words of warning here: the dough was incredibly soft so I had to sprinkle on more flour when kneading.  There was excess cheesy mix; you could either make a bit less or use on toast perhaps as a spread.  Make sure you line the tray!  I realised that the cheese would melt on and become rock-hard after baking, so I quickly transferred them to a lined tray.  Phew!  But they were delicious I have to say, much to my surprise and that of Mr P., as I had been grizzling all morning about how I thought they would end up like little bullets.  Nope!  They were light and moreish.  Definitely worth a try.