How to Make Cheddar Chive Shamrock Scones

A Unique St. Patrick’s Day Snack

These cheddar chive shamrock scones are a super festive and creative way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The scones are green and clover shaped, what more could you ask for? Some prep work is involved, but the end result makes it so worth it. These scones pair well with the herb butter recipe that’s detailed below or Kerrygold Irish butter. To make these cheddar chive shamrock scones, you’ll need a 2-inch-wide heart-shaped cookie cutter, a sheet pan, and a food processor or a blender. If you’re feeling the luck of the Irish, you should also check out this shepherd’s pie recipe and Guinness brown bread recipe.

Making Cheddar Chive Shamrock Scones

Start by preheating your oven to 400°F and line your sheet pan with parchment paper. Then in a measuring cup you’d use for liquid, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, and dry milk powder; set this aside for later use. Next, in your food processor, place 20 chives, 1/2 cup dill fronds, and 1/2 cup parsley leaves. I roughly chopped my herbs so they’d fit in my food processor easier. Then pulse the herbs until they’re well chopped.

Once the herbs are chopped, add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the food processor and pulse until well combined with the herbs. Next, add the shredded white cheddar cheese to the food processor, and once again pulse until combined. Then, cut the cold stick of butter into small cubes and add to the flour herb mixture a few cubes at a time and pulse, repeating until all of the butter is used and only a few pea-sized butter pieces are left in the flour.

Transfer the mixture from the food processor to a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the wet mixture that was set aside earlier into the well. Slowly incorporate the dry mixture with a fork until a shaggy dough forms. Lightly knead the dough with your hands until it comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured workspace and press the dough into a large rectangle. Use a 2-inch-wide heart-shaped cookie cutter to stamp out 20 to 24 hearts. You can also freehand this if you don’t have the right heart-shaped cookie cutter, but the cookie cutter makes the process a lot easier and faster. On the prepared sheet pan, arrange 4 of the hearts in a 4-leaf clover shape with the points of the hearts touching. Repeat with the remaining hearts until you have about 5 to 6 full-size clovers, spacing them evenly. You may have more or less clovers depending on how thick or thin you press your dough out. Freeze the pan for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the freezer and brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream. Sprinkle with flaky salt and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

Making the Herb Butter

While the scones are baking, place the remaining 10 chives, 1/4 cup dill fronds, and 1/4 cup parsley leaves in the food processor and pulse the herbs until they’re finely chopped. Add the stick of room-temperature butter to the herbs and continue pulsing until the mixture is well combined and light green. Serve the scones warm with this herb butter or Kerrygold Irish butter.