Cheesy Potato Scones ala Martha

 These Scottish "scones" are traditionally cooked on the griddle and served hot with other breakfast items. Fried in butter, these are crispy on the outside but inside are soft with a texture of mashed potatoes. I got this recipe out of Martha Stewart's Living magazine (Feb 2012 edition). The only thing I really did differently was to use Parmesan cheese instead of the fancy hard-to-pronounce cheese she lists in her magazine and I used Red potatoes instead of Russet. Use whatever cheese you have. I think that rustic recipes should include any sort of thing you have lying around if it looks like it would work with it, as that is really the essence of any rustic recipe.

Potato Scones
4 Red potatoes, skins on (or two large Russet)
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 stick of butter
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup or so shredded cheese (Parmesean, Jack, Cheddar, or whatever fancy cheese you have lying around)

Wash potatoes well and put on a plate in the microwave (covered with a paper towel), microwave 15 minutes until soft (or boil in salted water until soft). If using Russet potatoes, I'd take the peel off at this point (or peel before boiling). Red potato peels taste good though.
Place 3/4 stick of butter (about 6 tablespoons) into a bowl, add hot potatoes and blend with hand mixer until well blended and skins are torn into little pieces.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir into potato mixture with a spoon, until just combined. With your hands, knead in bowl to form a dough ball (a minute or two), cover and let rest about 20 minutes.
Dust work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out dough into an 8x10ish rectangle, sprinkle on cheese, fold in half and roll out again into a rectangle. Cut into squares and pan fry in butter (at about medium heat) 3-4 minutes per side until browned and cheese is melted.