Indulge in Savory Perfection: Flaky Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Scones Recipe

Prepare to elevate your baking game with these exquisite Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Scones – a truly irresistible savory treat that harmonizes the best elements of a red pepper and goat cheese bruschetta with the beloved tender texture of classic scones. This recipe transforms ordinary ingredients into a culinary delight, starting with succulent red peppers that are slow-roasted to perfection with a rich balsamic glaze. This meticulous roasting process coaxes out the deep, natural sweetness of the peppers, creating a truly complex and inviting flavor profile.

The roasted peppers are then beautifully complemented by the inclusion of tangy and pungent goat cheese. Its creamy, tart notes provide a striking contrast to the balsamic-infused sweetness of the peppers, ensuring every bite is a delightful dance of flavors. To further enhance this savory symphony, a touch of finely grated Parmesan cheese is added, lending a salty, umami depth that brings all the components into perfect balance. All these incredible ingredients are lovingly encased within a tender, flaky scone, creating a flavor-packed experience that can be savored any time of day – whether it’s a gourmet breakfast, a delightful brunch centerpiece, a sophisticated snack, or a unique side dish.

The Art of Savory Scone Baking: Essential Ingredients

Creating truly exceptional savory scones, especially our signature Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Scones, relies heavily on understanding the role each ingredient plays. Beyond just mixing them, selecting and preparing the right components with care ensures a tender, flaky, and intensely flavorful end product.

Flour Power: Crafting the Perfect Scone Texture

The foundation of any great scone lies in its flour. For these Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Scones, we employ a thoughtful blend of both pastry flour and all-purpose flour. The goal is a final scone that is wonderfully flaky and exquisitely tender, a texture predominantly achieved through the use of pastry flour. Pastry flour boasts a lower protein content, typically around 8-9% gluten, which naturally results in a more delicate dough and a softer crumb.

However, while less gluten contributes to tenderness, it can also compromise the structural integrity of the scone, making it prone to crumbling. This is where all-purpose (AP) flour comes into play. With its slightly higher gluten content, AP flour provides just enough structural network to hold the scone together, preventing it from falling apart. By meticulously combining these two flours, we achieve the best of both worlds: scones that are incredibly tender and flaky, yet robust enough to hold their shape, delivering a satisfying bite every time. This strategic flour blend is a key secret to the success of these savory red pepper and goat cheese delights, ensuring they are not just delicious but also perfectly formed.

The Cold Butter Secret: Achieving Flaky Layers

When baking scones, the temperature of your butter is paramount – it absolutely must be cold! I cannot stress this enough: for these Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Scones to achieve their signature flaky layers, very cold butter is non-negotiable. I often go a step further and use butter straight from the freezer, grating it or cutting it into very small cubes and then returning it to the freezer for a few minutes before incorporating it. This ensures it remains sufficiently cold throughout the mixing process, even when handled by warm hands.

The science behind this is fascinating and fundamental to scone perfection. Butter is primarily composed of milk fat (about 80-82%) and water (16-17%). When cold chunks of butter are worked into the dough, they remain as distinct pieces. As the scone dough, studded with these cold butter pockets, enters a hot oven, the water within the butter rapidly converts into steam. This steam then pushes apart the layers of dough, creating tiny air pockets and pockets of melted butter, which ultimately results in those coveted flaky, tender layers characteristic of a perfect scone. Conversely, if the butter is too warm, it will melt and “cream” into the flour mixture, forming a smooth, uniform batter. This prevents the formation of steam pockets, leading to a dense, heavy, and solid pastry rather than a light and airy one. Therefore, keeping your butter intensely cold is the golden rule for achieving irresistibly flaky savory scones.

The Flavor Stars: Red Pepper, Goat Cheese & More

Beyond the structural elements, the true magic of these savory scones lies in their exceptional flavor profile, crafted by a harmonious blend of star ingredients:

• Balsamic Roasted Red Peppers: These aren’t just any red peppers. Slow roasting them with balsamic vinegar and a touch of garlic transforms them into intensely sweet, deeply flavored morsels with a hint of tang and umami. The roasting caramelizes their natural sugars, adding a profound depth that a raw or lightly cooked pepper simply cannot achieve. They become soft, succulent, and bursting with a concentrated pepper essence that forms the sweet-savory backbone of the scone.
• Creamy Goat Cheese: The goat cheese is the brilliant counterpoint to the roasted peppers. Its characteristic tartness and slightly pungent, earthy flavor cut through the sweetness of the balsamic peppers, creating a dynamic and balanced taste. When baked, it softens into creamy pockets, adding a luxurious texture and a burst of bright, tangy flavor that makes each bite exciting.
• Parmesan Cheese: A sprinkle of finely grated Parmesan delivers a crucial salty, umami punch. It deepens the overall savory profile, adding a nutty, mature cheese flavor that complements both the sweetness of the peppers and the tang of the goat cheese. It’s the secret ingredient that ties all the robust flavors together.
• Fresh Rosemary: The aromatic, piney notes of fresh rosemary provide an herbaceous brightness that elevates the entire scone. Its slightly peppery, resinous quality pairs beautifully with the roasted peppers and cheeses, offering a fragrant lift and a fresh dimension to the rich, savory base.
• Heavy Cream: This rich dairy component not only binds the dough but also adds a luxurious richness and tenderness to the scones. Its high-fat content contributes to the soft texture and helps create a beautiful golden-brown crust when baked.

Step-by-Step Guide: Crafting Your Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Scones

Making these savory red pepper and goat cheese scones is a rewarding experience, though it requires attention to detail and a little bit of effort. Follow these steps for perfect results every time.

Mastering the Roasted Red Peppers

The journey to phenomenal scones begins with perfectly roasted red peppers. Start by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). Take your red bell peppers, quarter them, and carefully remove the stems and seeds. In a medium bowl, combine the pepper quarters with a generous drizzle of olive oil, a good quality balsamic vinegar, and minced garlic. Toss everything together thoroughly, ensuring each pepper piece is well coated in the aromatic mixture. Arrange the peppers onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, skin-side up. This orientation helps the skin blister and separate from the flesh, making it easier to peel later. Season them well with a pinch of salt.

Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and roast for approximately 55 minutes, or until the peppers are deeply softened and slightly charred. Once roasted, immediately remove them from the oven and transfer the steaming hot peppers into a lidded container or a Ziploc bag. Seal the container and allow the peppers to “sweat” for 15-20 minutes. This steaming process further loosens the skins. After resting, the skins should peel off easily with your fingers. Once peeled, place the tender peppers into the remaining marinade from the bowl (or a fresh balsamic/olive oil mixture if the initial one was discarded) and let them cool completely, absorbing even more flavor. Finally, remove the cooled peppers from the marinade, pat them dry to remove excess moisture, and chop them into roughly 1-inch cubes, ready to be incorporated into your scone dough.

Building the Scone Base: Dry Ingredients & Butter

Now, let’s get messy in the best way! In a large mixing bowl, combine your measured pastry flour and all-purpose flour, along with the baking powder, sugar (just a touch for balance), salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder. Whisk these dry ingredients together thoroughly to ensure they are well combined and evenly distributed. Next, add the cubed, very cold (preferably frozen) unsalted butter. This is where your hands or a pastry cutter come in. The goal is to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, with most pieces being about the size of small peas. Some slightly larger chunks are perfectly fine and will contribute to extra flakiness; just avoid going too small, which can lead to a less flaky result.

I find it most effective to start by pinching the butter pieces between my fingers, breaking them into smaller bits. This allows me to feel the butter and ensure it remains cold. Then, I finish with a pastry cutter to achieve a more uniform pea-sized consistency throughout the mixture. This step is crucial for developing those desirable flaky layers, as the cold butter will create steam pockets during baking.

Adding the Savory Goodness: Cheese, Herbs & Peppers

Once your butter is perfectly incorporated into the flour mixture, it’s time to introduce the stars of our savory scones. Add the cooled and finely chopped balsamic roasted red peppers, the crumbled soft goat cheese, the finely grated Parmesan cheese, and the fragrant, finely chopped fresh rosemary to the bowl. Using your hands or a large spoon, gently toss all these ingredients with the flour and butter mixture. The aim here is to ensure an even dispersion of the peppers, cheeses, and herbs throughout the dry ingredients, so every bite of your scone is packed with flavor. Be careful not to compress the mixture too much at this stage; keep it light and airy.

Bringing it All Together: Shaping and Cutting the Dough

With all your savory fillings mixed in, it’s time to add the liquid. Pour the cold heavy cream into the bowl. Again, I prefer to use my hands for this step, as they are excellent at dispersing the liquid evenly and allowing me to feel the dough’s consistency. Gently mix and bring the dough together within the bowl. The dough will likely be quite “shaggy” – meaning it looks loose and textured, rather than smooth. However, it should still come together when gently squeezed. If you notice a lot of dry crumbs at the bottom of the bowl that won’t incorporate, slowly add a very small amount more cold heavy cream, a teaspoon at a time, until the dough just comes together. Be careful not to add too much liquid, as this can activate the gluten prematurely and lead to tough scones.

Once the shaggy dough has formed, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. With gentle hands, begin patting the dough into a round disk. Avoid playing with or kneading the dough excessively, as this will over-activate the gluten and prevent that tender, flaky texture. Aim for a disk that is approximately 6-7 inches in diameter and about 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the disk into 6-8 equal wedges, much like slicing a pie. This creates the classic scone shape.

The Crucial Resting Period: Why 30 Minutes Matters

After shaping, carefully transfer your scone wedges onto a parchment-lined plate or baking sheet, ensuring they are spaced apart. Place them into the refrigerator for a minimum 30-minute resting period. This step is far from optional; it’s crucial for several reasons:

1. **Gluten Relaxation:** Any gluten activated during the mixing and shaping process needs time to relax. A relaxed gluten network results in a more tender and less tough scone.
2. **Flour Hydration:** The flour absorbs the liquid more fully during this rest, leading to a more consistent dough texture and a better final mouthfeel.
3. **Butter Resolidification:** Most importantly, this chill time allows the cold butter pieces to resolidify. As we learned, super-cold butter is the secret to those wonderful steam pockets that create flaky layers during baking. A firm, cold butter ensures maximum flakiness.

This resting period sets the stage for beautifully risen, tender, and flaky savory scones.

Baking to Golden Perfection

While your scones are resting, preheat your oven to a robust 425°F (220°C). A hot oven is essential for a good “oven spring” – the rapid rise that helps create height and flakiness. Once the resting period is complete, remove the scones from the fridge. Arrange them evenly onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving some space between each scone. Before baking, brush the tops of each scone with a little extra heavy cream; this encourages a beautiful golden-brown crust. For an extra touch of flavor and visual appeal, sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt over the tops. This adds a lovely textural contrast and a burst of savory seasoning.

Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15-22 minutes. Keep an eye on them; the exact baking time can vary depending on your oven. You’ll know they’re ready when they have risen significantly, are deeply golden brown on top and around the edges, and feel firm to the touch. Once baked, transfer the gorgeous Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Scones onto a wire cooling rack to cool slightly before indulging. They are utterly delicious served warm!

Serving Suggestions & Storage Tips

These savory Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Scones are incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed in various ways. They make a fantastic addition to any breakfast or brunch spread, served warm with a pat of butter, a drizzle of honey, or even alongside scrambled eggs. Their robust flavor also makes them a delightful accompaniment to a bowl of hearty soup or a crisp green salad for a light lunch. For an appetizer, cut them into smaller pieces and serve with a glass of wine.

To store leftover scones, place them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. For longer freshness, they can be refrigerated for up to a week. To reheat, simply warm them gently in a toaster oven or microwave until heated through. These scones also freeze beautifully! Once completely cooled, wrap individual scones tightly in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer-safe bag or container. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. To enjoy from frozen, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or reheat them directly from frozen in a moderate oven until warm and lightly crispy.

Get the Recipe:
Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Scones

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These savory scones feature tender balsamic roasted red peppers, creamy, tart crumbled goat cheese, and fragrant fresh rosemary, creating a uniquely flaky and flavorful treat.

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Roasting Time: 55 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Servings: 8 scones

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Ingredients

 

Balsamic Roasted Red Peppers

• 1 lb Red Bell Peppers,, tops and seeds removed, quartered
• 4 tbsp Olive Oil
• 4 tbsp Quality Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/4 tsp Salt

Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Scones

• 1 ½ (180g) cup All-Purpose Flour, †
• 1 (120g) cup Pastry Flour, †
• 1 tbsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
• 7 tbsp Cold Unsalted Butter,, cut into small cubes
• Chopped Roasted Red Peppers, (above)
• 3/4 cup Crumbled Soft Goat Cheese
• 1/2 cup Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 tsp Finely Chopped Rosemary
• 3/4 cup Cold Heavy Cream,, plus more if needed
• 1 tbsp Heavy Cream,, for brushing
• Flaky Sea Salt,, for sprinkling

Instructions

 

Roasted Red Peppers

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Add all ingredients (peppers, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt) to a large bowl, toss well together to ensure each pepper is well covered. Remove peppers from marinade and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet, skin side up. Pour half of the marinade over top of peppers, then place into oven and cook for about 55 minutes, or until soft and slightly charred.
• Remove roasted peppers from baking sheet and immediately transfer to a Ziploc bag or a lidded container. Allow the peppers to ‘sweat’ for 15-20 minutes in there. Afterwards, peel the skin off with your fingers (it should come off pretty easily). After the skin has been removed, place peppers into the remaining marinade, and allow to cool in the marinade for 20 minutes. After cooled, remove from marinade, pat dry, and roughly chop into 1-inch cubes.

Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Scones

Making the Dough

• Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a large mixing bowl, add both flours, baking powder, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Whisk well to combine. Add in cold butter cubes, and work the butter into flour with your hands or a pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly and butter pieces are about the size of peas (it is okay if some larger ones remain, just don’t go too small).
• Add in the chopped roasted red peppers, crumbled goat cheese, grated parmesan, and finely chopped rosemary. Toss well with your hands until the ingredients are evenly dispersed throughout the flour mixture.
• Add the cold heavy cream and stir until combined. I usually use my hands for this, as it allows for better incorporation and helps gauge the dough’s moisture level. After the liquids have been added and mixed, try to squeeze all of the dough together. If the dough does not ALL come together, and there are dry crumbs at the bottom of the bowl, then keep adding heavy cream in small increments (1 teaspoon at a time) until the crumbs come together with the rest of the dough. The dough should still look shaggy, but cohesive. Too much liquid will activate the gluten, so avoid over-mixing. Once the dough forms a shaggy but workable mass, turn it out onto a well-floured work surface.

Shaping, Cutting, and Resting

• Gently pat the dough into a smooth 6-7 inch disk, about 1 inch thick. Ensure the dough isn’t sticking to your work surface by occasionally lifting and re-flouring if needed. Using a bench scraper or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 6-8 equal wedges (like cutting a pie). Then, transfer the scone wedges, spaced apart, onto the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheet into the refrigerator for a 30-minute resting period. While the scones rest, preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C).

Baking the Scones

• Remove the chilled scones from the fridge. Brush the tops with more heavy cream and sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt. Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven, and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the scones are well-risen, golden brown, and firm to the touch. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Notes

† To measure flour correctly, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then level off with a straight edge. Do not pack the flour into the cup, or scoop with the measuring cup straight from the bag/container. Alternatively, weigh the flour for the most accurate results.

Cuisine: American, British

Course: Baking

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Explore More Savory & Sweet Scone Creations

If you’ve fallen in love with these savory red pepper and goat cheese scones, you’ll be thrilled to discover the diverse world of scone recipes. Scones are incredibly versatile, adapting beautifully to both sweet and savory palettes. Here are some other delightful scone recipes from our collection that you might enjoy, perfect for any occasion from breakfast to dessert:

Our Favorite Scone Recipes:

CARROT CAKE SCONES WITH MAPLE CREAM CHEESE GLAZE: These tender, flaky scones capture all the comforting flavors of a classic carrot cake, enhanced with a luscious maple cream cheese glaze. They are a perfect sweet treat for morning or afternoon tea.

BACON GRUYERE BREAKFAST SCONES: For another fantastic savory option, dive into these scones featuring crispy bacon, rich Gruyere cheese, and fragrant fresh thyme. They’re packed with maximum flavor and make an excellent breakfast or brunch item, wonderful on their own or served with a dollop of butter or a touch of honey.