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!
