Feeling Blue: Pear-Walnut Scones

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Dairy Farmers of Canada.

I’ve often said that I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t like, but that wasn’t always the case… in fact, there was a long period in my life when the only use I had for blue cheese was as a dip for my buffalo wings. It was simply too sharp, too pungent, too overwhelming for my brie-loving palate.

Thankfully, that hasn’t been the case for quite some time, so I very much enjoyed this month’s pick from the Dairy Farmers of Canada, a lovely blue cheese called Dragon’s Breath from That Dutchman’s Cheese Farm in Nova Scotia.

Dragon’s Breath a soft and creamy blue cheese, which arrives as a softball-sized nugget coated with dark blue wax. To serve it, you slice away the top of the wax to reveal the cheese inside, which makes it a strikingly beautiful addition to any cheese board.

Flavour-wise, this one is very much up my alley… I’m still learning to love some of the crumblier, sharper blues, but this one is very much a crowd-pleasing blue, with a mild creamy flavour.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still got a that unmistakable blue cheese funk, but it’s tempered with a mellow creaminess and a soft spreadable consistency that’s perfect for smearing on a hunk of crusty bread.

It’s that spreadable texture that got me thinking of pairing the Dragon’s Breath with these flaky two-bite scones that are flavoured with a combination of dried pear and walnuts - two classic pairings for blue cheese.

To show off the sweetness of the dried pears and the sharpness of the blue cheese, I deliberately kept the scones on the savoury side by using as little sugar as I could get away with, and adding a little whole wheat flour to give them a heartier texture than a traditional white flour scone.

The end result is a batch of dainty little scones that are equal parts sophisticated and old-fashioned, kind of like the cheese that inspired them.

Paired together with some fresh fruit or your favourite jam, this duo of cheese and scones makes for a rather elegant twist on the usual Mother’s Day tea, especially if your mom doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth.

Oh, and if mom isn’t a fan of blue cheese, these scones are pretty amazing with a milder cheese. Try a gooey soft-rind cheese like brie, or a sharper, nuttier cheese like aged gouda. Or just go the traditional route and slather them with clotted cream, which is pretty awesome too.

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Dairy Farmers of Canada. Thanks for supporting the brands that keep the Crumb Test Kitchen running! All opinions, as always, are entirely my own.

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Mini Pear and Walnut Scones

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• Author: Isabelle Boucher (Crumb)
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 24 1x

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Description

These adorable little scones are packed full of chunks of dried pear and walnut, making them the perfect partners for a mild, creamy blue cheese like Dragon's Breath.

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Ingredients

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• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• ¾ cup chopped dried pears
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 5 tbsp heavy cream, divided

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Stir in the dried pears and walnuts, then add the buttermilk and ¼ cup cream, and gently mix until the dough just barely comes together. (If the dough looks too dry, add more cream, 1 tbsp at a time, until the dough starts to come together.)
4. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface lightly dusted with flour, and gently knead 5-6 times to finish incorporating any floury bits. Roll out the dough to 1" thick, and cut out the scones using a 1" round cutter, gathering up the scraps and re-rolling until you have 24 scones.
5. Arrange the scones on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them ½" apart. Brush the tops with remaining 1 tbsp cream.
6. Bake scones in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Category: Brunch
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: Canadian