Lynne Crowther from Drumbo in Co. Down has been crowned the winner of the ‘Golden Cow Softer Scone Competition’, following a search to find Northern Ireland’s greatest scone recipe.

Golden Cow recently launched new ‘Golden Cow Softer’, a rich and creamy butter that has been softened with a hint of rapeseed oil so it spreads straight from the fridge. To celebrate the launch of ‘Softer’, Golden Cow collaborated with the experts at Belfast Cookery School to embark on a search to find Northern Ireland’s best scone.

Entries were whittled down to just three finalists who were invited to Belfast Cookery School where they created their signature scones under the watchful eye of the judges and battled it out to win the coveted title of Northern Ireland’s greatest scone recipe.

The judges chose three finalists who all brought something different to the table. Pauline Dixon from Newcastle in County Down created Raspberry and Lemon Drizzle Scones with her own unique twist, Siobhan Donnelly from Dunadry baked her original recipe for an amazing Classic Scone and overall winner Lynne Crowther created savoury Posh Cheese Scones.

Ian Hunter, mentor and chef at Belfast Cookery School said, “We were delighted to partner with Golden Cow to find the best scone recipe in Northern Ireland and we were really impressed by the standard of all the entries that we received.

The three finalists created amazing scones and they all should be very proud of themselves for getting this far in the competition. With three very different scones, it was extremely difficult to choose a winner. Siobhan and Pauline both baked scones that tasted phenomenal but Lynne’s savoury cheese scones were technical perfection.”

Lynne’s ‘Posh Cheese Scones’ are an unusual take on the traditional sweet scones with jam and cream.  The mixture of cheese, mustard and herbs makes the ideal base for lashings of Golden Cow Softer on top. They can be served warm straight from the oven and are perfect for those with a savoury tooth.

Speaking at the final Bronagh Clarke, Marketing Manager, Golden Cow said. “The competition was a great way to celebrate the launch of our brand-new product, ‘Golden Cow Softer’, and helped to show the central role that butter plays in creating dishes that continue to bring families together. All three finalists today really demonstrated the passion that there is for cooking and baking in homes across Northern Ireland.”

As well as winning the coveted title of Northern Ireland’s greatest scone, Lynne also received a £500 voucher for Belfast Cookery School and an overnight stay for two at the luxury five star Fitzwilliam Hotel .

The two runners up received vouchers for Belfast Cookery School and all three finalists took home a hamper of ‘Golden Cow Softer’ so that they can continue to bake their signature recipes, with the same award winning Golden Cow taste, to share with their families and friends.