Since I am participating in Charcutepalooza, I have a lot of homemade bacon in the fridge and freezer.  I have already cured another batch of bacon, and will be headed out to pick up more pork belly, probably sooner than later.  No more store bought bacon for me!

Since I have so much of this delectable treat, I wanted to make something other than a BLT. I love scones and biscuits with cheese and other additions, so adding a bit of bacon seemed like a winner.  And it was.

Savory Bacon-Cheese Scones

3 slices bacon, sliced into strips

2 cups AP flour 2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

4 TB chilled butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup grated Gouda cheese

1 cup heavy cream

Cook the bacon pieces until crisp.  Remove them from the pan, and drain on a paper towel.

Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper into a medium bowl. Lightly whisk the dry ingredients to mix them. Using your hand, quickly mix the chilled butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is pea sized, using a pinching and squeezing motion. Or you can use a pastry cutter, or make the dough in a food processor. I didn’t feel like cleaning a whole lot of stuff, so I opted for the one bowl method.

Add the reserved bacon, cheese and cream to the bowl. Using a fork, mix until a sticky dough is formed.  Turn the sticky dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times until the dough comes together, and loses it’s stickiness. This only takes a few turns, so DO NOT OVER-KNEAD THE DOUGH!

Pat the dough out into a rough circle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the circle into 8 scones.  Place the scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Bake your scones for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

Eat these scones right out of the oven, with a little extra butter slathered on if you desire.