Easy air fryer cheese scones, baked to golden perfection in just eight minutes!
The savoury scones are packed with rich and tangy cheddar cheese and have a light and soft texture, perfect for spreading with creamy butter.
Serve these easy cheese scones for a savoury afternoon tea with crumbly local blue cheese, cherry tomatoes, and chutney! They’re also great with soup!
Ingredient notes
Flour – self-raising flour is used for cheese scones to get a nice rise.
Salt – for seasoning and flavour.
Cayenne – adds a touch of heat which contrasts well with the cheese.
Mustard Powder – helps to bring out the flavour of the extra mature cheddar.
Baking Powder – to help the scones rise.
Butter – chilled and cubed. Unsalted is best as it allows you to control the salt content.
Cheese – grated extra-mature cheddar cheese, but use other cheeses if you prefer such as red leicester.
Milk – full-fat whole milk (or semi-skimmed).
Lemon Juice – lemon juice is used to sour the milk which helps to produce a light and fluffy textured scone.
You’ll also need a little bit of plain flour for kneading and a small amount of extra milk for glazing.
How to make cheese scones in air fryer
One: Preheat the air fryer to 200C (400F).
Two: Place the dry ingredients (self-raising flour, salt, cayenne, mustard powder and baking powder) in a large mixing bowl and give them a mix. Add the chilled cubed butter to the mixing bowl and rub it in with your hands until you get fine breadcrumbs form.
Three: Stir in 100g of the grated cheese (the rest is needed for the tops).
Four: Heat the milk in the microwave for 20 seconds, squeeze in a little lemon juice (about ¼ teaspoon) and leave it to stand for 2-3 minutes. Pour the soured milk into the mixing bowl and use a metal dinner knife to stir it in.
Five: Once the scone dough has started to come together, use your hands to bring it together into a ball.
Six: Lightly flour your work surface then knead the scone dough for a few seconds to cover it in flour. Shape the dough into a disc about 3 cm thick with your hands then stamp out 5 scones with a 5cm cookie cutter. You’ll need to keep reforming the dough into a disc with your hands until you have used it all up.
Seven: Using a pastry brush, glaze the tops of the scones with milk then sprinkle over the reserved grated cheese.
Eight: Place the scones in your air fryer basket and air fry for 8 minutes until risen and golden brown.
Expert tips
- Always use cold cubed butter straight from the fridge. If you try to rub in soft warm butter you will be left with a sticky mess. Cold butter helps to keep the dough cool and gives the scones the perfect flakey texture once baked.
- You don’t need a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Just shape it with your hands into a disc shape.
- When shaping the dough, try to handle it as little as possible and keep your hands cool. Warm hands can melt the butter in the dough and lead to a tough texture.
- Make sure your self-raising flour and baking powder are in date to ensure the scones rise.
- If you prefer, you can make the scone dough in your food processor instead, using the pulse function. Be careful not to overwork the dough though!
Air Fryer Cheese Scones Recipe
Prep Time: 8 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 16 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Ingredients
- 75 g Self Raising Flour
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ⅛ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 55 g Unsalted Butter chilled and cubed
- 120 g Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese grated
- 85 ml Whole Milk
- ¼ teaspoon Lemon Juice fresh
Other ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Plain Flour for dusting
- 2 tablespoon Milk for glazing
Instructions-
-
Preheat the air fryer to 200C (400F).
-
Place the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and give them a mix.175 g Self Raising Flour, ¼ teaspoon Salt, ⅛ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, ¼ teaspoon Mustard Powder, ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
-
Add the chilled cubed butter to the mixing bowl and rub it in with your hands until you get fine breadcrumbs form.55 g Unsalted Butter
-
Stir in the grated cheese (reserving a few heaped tablespoons for the tops).120 g Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese
-
Heat the milk in the microwave for 20 seconds, squeeze in a little lemon juice (about ¼ teaspoon) and leave it to stand for 2-3 minutes. Pour the soured milk into the mixing bowl and use a metal dinner knife to stir it in.85 ml Whole Milk, ¼ teaspoon Lemon Juice
-
Once the scone dough has started to come together, use your hands to bring it together into a ball.
-
Lightly flour your work surface then knead the scone dough for a few seconds to cover it in flour. Shape the dough into a disc about 3 cm thick with your hands then stamp out 5 scones with a 5cm cookie cutter. You’ll need to keep reforming the dough into a disc with your hands until you have used it all up.2 tablespoon Plain Flour
-
Using a pastry brush, glaze the tops of the scones with milk then sprinkle over the reserved grated cheese.2 tablespoon Milk, 120 g Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese
-
Place the scones in your air fryer basket and air fry for 8 minutes until risen and golden brown.
Notes
- Always use cold cubed butter straight from the fridge. If you try to rub in soft warm butter you will be left with a sticky mess. Cold butter helps to keep the dough cool and gives the scones the perfect flakey texture once baked.
- You don’t need a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Just shape it with your hands into a disc shape.
- When shaping the dough, try to handle it as little as possible and keep your hands cool. Warm hands can melt the butter in the dough and lead to a tough texture.
- Make sure your self-raising flour and baking powder are in date to ensure the scones rise.
- If you prefer, you can make the scone dough in your food processor instead, using the pulse function. Be careful not to overwork the dough though!