Fig and coriander mustard scones.

Saturday afternoon after we returned from a morning of wondering around charity shops I was feeling a little bored and when there's nothing to do. I bake. I had some left over Parmesan in the fridge and after coming third in the Maille cullinary challenge I had a lovely range of goodies to use. I decided that it would be cheese scones. My mum makes the best ones (of course, she's good that mum of mine!) and we both agree that the addition on mustard or mustard seeds makes all the difference.

I used a fig and coriander mustard and it worked so nicely with the two cheeses in the scone. However you could use any mustard you like. When I got the scones out of the oven I decided that I would leave the crispy melted cheese bits around the scone. Although it doesn't look that pretty it was too yummy to leave off!

Fig and coriander mustard scones.

You will need:

250g plain flour, plus extra for flouring

generous pinch salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp of mustard

35g unsalted butter, plus extra for serving

200g strong cheddar

2 tbsp fresh snipped chives

150ml milk

Parmesan for sprinkling

 a little milk for glazing

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Lightly flour a baking tray.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl.

Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. 

Grate half of the cheese very finely, and roughly chop the other half. Stir into the flour mixture with the chopped chives.

Gradually add milk to make a soft but not sticky dough (you may not need all the milk).

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly, then roll the dough out into a thickness of just less than 2.5cm/1in. Use a 6cm/2½in cutter to cut the scones, re-rolling the off-cuts as necessary. Handle the dough as little as possible to keep it light.

Put the scones onto the floured baking tray, allowing at least 2.5cm/1in between them and glaze with the  milk mixture and sprinkle over a good handful of parmesan.

Bake for 10 minutes or until risen and golden brown.

Serve with butter. Best eaten warm.

Not quite mama's cheese straws!

My mum makes the best cheese straws. I honestly don't think you can get better than hers.  She also makes the best roast potatoes in the land. I get all my inspiration and cooking knowledge from my mum but now I'm all moved out it's time I tackled recipes that she used to make. Time to start my own traditions, I know they will never be as good as her's but here's to trying. 

Cheese straws make me feel Christmasy, we used to bake the whole of Christmas eve and we would have to make an extra batch of these so the family (especially my dad) could eat a few before. If you ask my mum she says that her nanny's cheese straws were even better than hers and we've decided that we may have to resort to hiring a medium to get the recipe from her. Ha. 

On Monday, the bank holiday we decided to hold a little tea party. I baked these, truffle cookies and shortcakes (like a scone). Even the Mr baked a cake! It was a fun afternoon, finished off with a game of Cluedo. 

So here's the recipe I used, be warned they are addictive!

Adapted from Nigella

100g self raising flour

pinch of paprika

50g softened butter

160g red Leicester, grated

40g  Parmesan, grated (plus extra for sprinkling)

milk

Preheat the oven to 200º/Gas Mark 6.

Rub the butter into the flour and add the cheeses. The mixture will be dry but if you feel that it's not coming together add a small amount of milk until it's combined.

Roll out onto a lightly floured board. Cut into rectangles or you could use a cookie cutter. Place onto a lined baking tray. Brush the tops of the cheese straws with milk and sprinkle over some Parmesan.  

Bake for 10 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack. These won't stay around for long!