Pull-Apart Cheese Scone Christmas Wreath

Christmas is a time for entertaining and this recipe is sure to be a winner with all your guests and it will look very festive too! Make a batch of cheese scones and bake them in a ring to look like a festive wreath. Serve warm, with extra Lurpak! Delicious!

Makes 1 wreath, plus about 6 extra scones

Ingredients

450g self-raising flour
1⁄2 tsp salt
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
110g chilled Lurpak Slightly Salted Butter, cut into pieces
300g mature Cheddar cheese, grated 1 large egg
200ml milk, plus extra for brushing Rosemary sprigs, to garnish

Olives, to serve

Method

- Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan oven 200°C/ Gas Mark 7. Grease 2 large baking sheets.
- Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped rosemary and stir it in.

- Rub in the chilled Lurpak Slightly Salted butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Stir in about three-quarters of the cheese.
- Beat the egg and milk together, then stir it into the mixture with a knife. Bring the dough together with your hand, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few moments until smooth.
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3cm, then use a small (3-4cm) cutter to stamp out the scones, re-rolling the dough as necessary.

- Arrange 15-16 scones an overlapping circle on one baking sheet. Put any remaining scones on the second baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little milk and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake for 12-15 minutes until risen and golden.
- Leave to cool for a few minutes. Garnish the wreath with rosemary sprigs and serve while warm, with olives and extra Lurpak Slightly Salted Butter. 

Tip

When cutting out the scones, avoid twisting the cutter – this will help them to rise better.