Vegemite and Cheese Scones

Apparently, this recipe hit the charts quite some years ago - 2013, maybe?  It's from Julie Goodwin, the very first winner of Masterchef Australia back in 2009.  This is from her Essential Cookbook, first published in 2017, but I am assuming she must have published this recipe in a prior book or online as I have seen it in blog posts earlier than that.

This recipe is given in cup measurements (not my fave), but I have worked out the grammage (hehehe) as well.  Baking needs measurements, my friends!  I found a couple of errors in her recipe, but I managed to do just fine, anyway.  These turned out very well, and I would happily make them again.  

cheesy and full of umami Vegemite flavour

Makes 12:

ingredients:

300g./10.5 oz/2 cups self-raising flour

1/4 tsp sea salt flakes

a big pinch of cream of tartar (optional)  see Notes

2 Tbs/40g./1.4 oz butter, melted

250 mL/8 oz milk

2 Tbs/40g./1.4 oz Vegemite or Marmite   see Notes

80g./1 cup/2.5 oz tasty/vintage cheese, grated   see Notes

Method:

On goes your oven to 220C/430F to heat up, while you line a large baking tray with baking paper

Grab a large mixing bowl, and sift or whisk the flour and salt together - in the bowl, of course :=)

Melt your butter, let it cool for a minute, then stir it into the milk

Now make a well in the centre of your flour, and pour in the melted butter and milk mixture

With a butter knife, you give it all a firm mixing till nicely combined - but don't go wild

You can knead it in the bowl, just a few times to get it together, then tip out onto a floured bench/surface and press out the dough (using just my hands worked fine for me - no need for a rolling pin) till it's about 1.5 cm (about half an inch) thick

Then you spread half the Vegemite over half the dough, and then scatter half the cheese over the Vegemite

Now fold the naked half over the cheesy half of the dough, and the other halves of the Vegemite and then the cheese go over the top of the dough, so you end up with a cheesy bundle - I actually had to square the dough out a bit here, as it was quite small, and no way would I have been able to get 12 scones out of it, using a 5cm/2 inch cutter

I decided to cut my dough into 12 shapes and plonk 'em on the lined tray, just touching each other

Julie says to bake for 10-12 minutes, but mine took about 14-15 mins.  They should be golden on top, and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom

So tender and tasty, you don't even need to spread 'em with butter!

Vegemite - every Aussie kid's fave on toast :=)

cheese please!

Notes:

As my self-raising flour was a tad old, I added a pinch of cream of tartar, which makes your scones light and fluffy apparently

There doesn't seem to be an equivalent ingredient for Vegemite, and Mr. Google has no idea - sorry to my American friends!

Also, Mr P. strongly suggested to me to use a wee bit less of it in these scones, so maybe try 30 grams rather than 40g.

I used Strong and Bitey Vintage Cheese, but use your fave - I replaced some of the Vintage cheese with freshly-grated Parmesan to add some oomph!

ingredients gathered

butter and milk go into the flour

knead then pat out your dough to 1.5cm thickness

spread on half the Vegemite and half the cheese over half the dough

the final scattering of cheese

Okay I confess: I put ALL the Vegemite in the middle rather than half, but not my fault.  Julie left out the word 'half' when she tells us to spread on the good stuff over the dough, before folding

and cut into 12 shapes

ready for baking at 220C/430F for about 12-15 mins.

see that oozy, salty Vegemite?

cheesy with a tender, fluffy inside

makes a fab morning tea!

I am adding this recipe post to Tandy's post (on her Lavender and Lime blog) for International Scone Week 2025 #ISW2025.  Once a year in August, bloggers everywhere put up a scone recipe (or two) of their choice, so feel free to join in with your delicious recipe!  See her post 31 July 2025 to get the details.  Thanks Tandy for hosting! 

And I am also submitting this post for BKD Cookbook Club, hosted by Jo Tracey.  This month's theme is a cookbook first published in your own country, so I picked (Aussie) Julie Goodwin's Essential Cookbook. So thanks to you too Jo for hosting!

Tomato Butter And Tattie Scones

Tomato butter, you say?  But don't you dislike tomatoes, you ask?  Well, yes and no.  I can bring myself to eat some if they are very firm, no squish at all.  And I can manage them in a stew or soup when necessary.  But on the whole, nooooo ...

On the other hand, I love potatoes in any form, and these Scottish potato scones (aka Irish potato farls) were a delightful surprise.  The scone recipe is from Recipes from the Orkney Islands edited by Eileen Wolfe, and also from the Westray Heritage Centre Cookery Book Traditional and Favourite Recipes.  The first book calls for butter, while the second uses margarine.  You know which I used.

(This colourful and tasty butter recipe is from apples & elderflowers by Julia Matusik.  The tattie scones recipe is authored by B. Sutherland.)

Edit: March 2025:

I've made this again, while waiting for Cyclone Alfred to drop by.  I reckon you need to add some grinds of black pepper and dried herbs to the dough, before adding the flour.  And make sure the dough is rolled/patted out very thinly indeed!  Throw in some chilli flakes if you're feeling daring!

Edit August 2025 #ISW2025:

I am adding this recipe post to Tandy's post for International Scone Week 2025.  Once a year, bloggers everywhere put up a scone recipe of their choice, so feel free to join in with your delicious recipe!  See her post 31 July 2025 to get the details.  Thanks Tandy for hosting!  

Makes 2 jars x 200 mL/6.8 oz

ingredients:

Tomato butter:

400g./14 oz cherry tomatoes

1 Tbs Ev olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt flakes

3-4 grinds black pepper

250g./9 oz butter, at room temp. and cubed

1 Tbs thyme leaves 

Thyme

Tattie scones:

225g./8 oz cooked, and cooled potatoes  (as in - boil 'em till tender)

15g./½ oz butter, melted

1/2 tsp sea salt

half a dozen grinds of black pepper

some dried herbs - like chives or parsley - maybe half a teaspoon of each

And maybe a few dashes of chilli flakes if you fancy

50g./2 oz plain flour

Method:

For the tomato butter:

Whack on your oven to 180C/360F to heat up

The tomatoes go into a baking dish, and get tossed (gently) with the olive oil, salt and pepper

Let 'em roast for 15-20 minutes till soft and collapsed, then you leave them to cool right down

When cool, they go into a food processor, and you give them a few whizzes till finely chopped

And in go the butter and thyme, and you blitz again till nicely mixed together - Julia says till emulsified, which will take 3-4 minutes

Store in glass jars in the fridge for a month, or the freezer for 3 months

For the tattie scones:

Put the mashed potatoes into a medium bowl

Melt the butter, add it along with the salt to the mash and give it a really good mixing

Then mix in the black pepper, herbs and chilli flakes if using

Then you add the flour gradually, mixing in well, till you have a happy dough

Pat it out onto your work surface, roll out very thinly, prick it all over, and cut into triangles  (or cut into triangles, then prick it!)

Then cook on a hot griddle plate/grill pan for 3 minutes per side (or till brown)

Delicious with the tomato butter!

Notes:

I wonder if using half plain and half self-raising flour might be a good idea?  I am going to give it a try, 'cos they end up very flat

I used frozen mashed potato made with butter (the label says)

I cut the dough into 10 pieces but next time I might go with only 8

The recipes say to cook the dough on a girdle, which is a grill pan/griddle pan/griddle plate - whatever you like to call it!

gather your ingredients

throw the tomatoes into your baking dish

and bake till squishy and collapsed

add everything to the food processor

whizz away till smooth

then into jars and into the fridge

get your tattie scones ingredients together

pat out the dough on your work surface

get Mr P. to prick it with a fork

and let him do the cooking on the grill pan/girdle pan

ready to slather on the butter

I think that's a piece of fish to the side :=)

#ISW2025

c. Sherry M.

Lisa's Square Scones

I'm just sliding in another interesting scone recipe for International Scone Week!  This one is like a scone-cum-shortbread; it is flat and square and buttery, with a sugar coating.  I always like to find a recipe that is new to me, and has an interesting ingredient or method.  Regular readers may remember the scones I made one year, where you beat the heck out of the dough with a rolling pin!  

This recipe is from Now & Then by Tessa Kiros.  For some reason, I always mix her up with Tess Mallos the Australian cookbook writer, sadly no longer with us.  But Tessa is alive and kicking!  And writing cookbooks, happily.  For us, I mean :=)

feeling hungry, my friends? :=)

These are very easy to make, though I was a tiny bit doubtful when I made them, as the dough seemed very dry but it all comes together beautifully when you pour on all that luscious cream!  Kinda reminded me of a recipe we made in a cooking class with Belinda Jeffery, where you add a whole bottle of cream to a bread dough!

Makes 9:

ingredients:

280g./10 oz plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 Tbs caster sugar/white sugar

2 pinches of salt (about 1/8 tsp)

75g./2.75 oz cold butter, diced

1/2 tsp vanilla extract  (go crazy and use a whole tsp if you fancy)

200mL/7 oz pure cream

1 Tbs caster sugar (yes, another Tbs)

jam and whipped cream, to serve - Tessa suggests whipping 250mL/9 oz of cream - or you can use dollop cream, like I did!

Method:

Turn on your oven to 200C/400F to heat up

Flour, baking powder, sugar and salt go into a large mixing bowl

Whisk these ingredients together, and then work the butter into the dry mix with your fingers or a butter knife till it looks like breadcrumbs

Stir the vanilla into the milk, and pour it over the flour mixture - yep, really, don't freak out :=)

Now you gently incorporate the milk into the flour with your knife or hands - yes, it will come together!  

Keep gathering up the flour and milk till you have a lovely, roughly round dough

Now that you have a nice, round-ish ball of dough, lift it out of the bowl, and give it a final pat-down or pat-around

Shape it into a 18cm/7 inch square on your baking-paper-lined tray, squaring off the edges with a knife (says Tessa), sprinkle with the extra sugar and cut into 9 equal pieces

Separate them slightly, so they don't touch 

And bake for about 12-14 minutes till pale golden  - make sure you turn the tray around towards the end of the cooking time so they get an even bake

Take out the tray and let 'em cool for a few minutes

Then eat with jam and cream!  You know you want to!

You can keep the leftovers (?) in an airtight container for a couple of days, or freeze 'em

Notes:

I think for once I have no notes to add!  I just followed Tessa's recipe to a T!  Which makes me think of afternoon tea, when you must eat scones with jam and cream.  Which makes me think of staying in Philadelphia with our Quaker friend who sang in a choir, and moi making, baking and taking (scone-like) Chelsea Buns to one of her concerts.  They went down a treat!  All that dried fruit deliciousness ...

gather your ingredients

cut the butter into the flour

cream in, and pat into a rough dough

onto your baking tray, and shaped into an 18cm square

sprinkle on the caster sugar

and bake for 12-14 minutes at 200C/400F

oh yes please!

#ISW2024

c. Sherry M.

Sweet Fruit Scones

Oh yes, my friends - it's International Scone Week again. Tandy from the blog Lavender & Lime took over the mantle from Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial some years ago.  Thank you Tandy for keeping this annual get-together alive and well.  

So somehow it's August again, and here we are - baking beautiful scones.  I've made three versions this time, so you'll see the two sweet ones here during Scone Week, and then I'll put up the secret, savoury version next month - hehehe ...

This recipe is from The Irish Countrywomen's Association Cookbook.  It has some great, old-fashioned dishes plus lots of new ones.  A cornucopia of tried and tested dishes in Irish family homes.

jam then cream, of course :=)

Makes around 10:

ingredients:

300g./10.5 oz plain flour

1 tsp bicarb-soda

1/4 tsp salt

65g./2.3 oz cold butter, cubed

zest of a small lemon - about 2 tsp  (optional)

55g./2 oz caster sugar

55g./2 oz sultanas, or dried fruit of your choice

25g./1 oz mixed dried citrus peel

1 egg, lightly beaten

135 mL/4.5 oz milk plus extra for glazing the tops

Method:

Turn on your oven to 180C/350F to heat up

Sift the flour, bi-carb and salt into a large mixing bowl

Now rub the cubed butter into the flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry cutter (or a butter knife), till it looks like breadcrumbs

Put the lemon zest into a small bowl with the caster sugar, and rub in well with your fingers till you have a yellowy and fragrant mix

Now add the lemony sugar, sultanas and peel into the flour mix, and stir them in

Beat the egg with the milk, make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and mix most of the liquid into the flour.  Add all the milk if your dough is not moist enough to pat into a nice round

So give the dough a bit of a knead, and pat into a round, then place it on a lightly-floured surface and shape it up (no real need for kneading, I found, nor for a rolling pin!)

Pat out the dough into a 2cm/0.75 inch thick round, then grab your scone/biscuit cutter and cut out shapes - you will get 10 or 11 scones

Brush the tops with some milk (maybe 1-2 Tbs?), and bake on a lightly-floured baking tray for about 15-18 minutes, or till golden-brown

Serve warm with (berry) jam and cream

Will last for a couple of days in an airtight container

Notes:

I made a half quantity of this recipe, but you can double the ingredients for the full amount

You can also just cut out the scones with a knife for square shapes

The recipe says to heat up the baking tray (sans flour) before the scones go into the oven, but I found that the bottoms were overcooked!  (The flour would be cast over the tray just before baking the scones.) But try this if you think it will give you better bums :=)

You can use self-raising flour alone if you like; just leave out the bi-carb of course

ingredients gathered

rub the zest into the caster sugar

stir everything into the flour mixture

pat into a 2cm round on a lightly-floured surface

onto the tray for baking at 180C for about 15 mins.

golden and delicious

jam then cream :)

Joining in with Tandy from Lavender and Lime blog #ISW2024

c. Sherry M.

Orange Scones WIth Orange Glaze

It's winter, it's citrus time, it's time for orange scones.  And it's time for International Scone Week, hosted by the lovely Tandy from the blog Lavender and Lime.  She took over the mantle from Celia of Fig Jam & Lime Cordial.  This is where global cooks celebrate scones of every variety, once a year in August. 

I chose these orange scones from the book Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines.  Yep, that one - she and her hubby Chip are builders, decorators and cafe owners in Waco, Texas.  Brrrrr, that gives me a shiver each time I say it.  That whole mass siege/shootout/killing thing years ago ...  I've read very mixed reviews of her cookbooks, but anyways, these were quite delicious.  And there are other recipes I'd like to try.  

deliciously citrus-y

Makes 12:

ingredients:

300g./10.5 oz plain flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 large egg

180g./6.3 oz sour cream

110g./4 oz caster sugar or white sugar

1-2 tsp orange zest

180g./6.3 oz cold butter, cut into cubes  (unsalted if you wish)

Maple-Orange Glaze:

260g./9 oz icing sugar/powdered sugar

1-2 tsp orange zest

45g./1.5 oz butter, melted

3 Tbs fresh orange juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp maple syrup

Method:

Heat your oven to 200C/390F

Line 2 baking trays with baking paper

Grab a large mixing bowl, and whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt

Now grab a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg, then add the sour cream and give it a good whisk with the egg

The sugar and orange zest go into another small bowl, where you will press the zest into the sugar with the back of a spoon till well-mixed together

Now stir this zesty sugar into the flour mixture, and add the diced butter, which you will rub into the flour and sugar with your nicely clean and cool fingertips (or use a pastry cutter like I did) - Joanna says till it is 'pebble-like'!

Now stir in the eggy mix to this flour mix, and form a dough - guess what!  my dough was sooooo wet that I had to add a fair bit of flour to my hands, so I could make a nice little dough

Cut the dough in half, sprinkle flour on your bench/work surface, and shape into a 15cm/6 inch round, about 2cm/¾ inch thick

Cut the dough into 6 wedges, and place on the baking tray about 2cm apart

Now do the same with the other half of the dough - see Notes

Bake till nicely golden, about 13-15 minutes then cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before you place the rack over a tray, and pour/spoon your glaze over the tops of the scones

Which you have made by grabbing a medium mixing bowl, stirring the icing sugar and zest together, adding in the melted butter, orange juice, vanilla and maple syrup and whisking well

Eat on the same day if possible, not that that's a problem, but you can keep them for a couple of days in an airtight container

Notes:

Joanna says to freeze the butter, but it's not necessary - just chill it

Not sure why she suggests cutting the dough in half, then cutting into 6 wedges x 2.  I reckon you could just use a biscuit/cookie/scone cutter, or just cut the whole dough into 10 or 12 wedges, triangles, whatever

Also not sure why she calls it Maple Orange Glaze, as it only has a half teaspoon of maple syrup.  This makes a truckload of icing, but you won't regret it :=)

get whisking

stir the sugar and zest together

mix that butter into the flour

grab that pastry cutter ...

divvy up your dough

cut into wedges - or whatever shape you fancy

and bake at 200C for around 15 mins.

there was lots of icing!

oops!  Forgot to add this photo

#ISW2023 Lavender & Lime blog by Tandy Sinclair

(C.) Sherry M.