1-Preheat the oven to 220°C/425F/Gas Mark 7: Preheat the oven to 220°C/425F/Gas Mark 7. Line a baking tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or baking paper.
2-Grate the cheddar cheese, keeping aside approximately: Grate the cheddar cheese, keeping aside approximately 40 grams to place on top of the scones before baking.
3-In a large mixing bowl, whisk together: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper).
4-Either grate the butter or cut it: Either grate the butter or cut it into small blocks. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs with small pea-sized pieces of butter in the flour. This can also be done using a pastry cutter.
5-Add the grated cheese and chives to: Add the grated cheese and chives to the flour mixture, and stir through until well-distributed.
6-Pour the milk into the flour mixture,: Pour the milk into the flour mixture, using a fork, and stir to make a rough dough.
7-Lightly flour a clean surface: Lightly flour a clean surface. Place the scone dough in the middle of the lightly floured surface and bring the dough together into a rectangle. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into thirds and fold the outer edges on the middle section. Press down using your hands or a rolling pin until the dough is about 3cm thick. Repeat the process twice more. This laminates the dough.
8-Either using a cookie cutter or knife,: Either using a cookie cutter or knife, cut 6 to 8 large scones. If using a round cookie cutter, bring together the left-over dough, by gently kneading the dough together and forming a disk or square to cut out additional scones. Try to work with the dough as little as possible.
9-Place the scones onto the prepared baking: Place the scones onto the prepared baking sheet. Then brush the tops of the scones with milk using a pastry brush, and sprinkle the leftover cheddar cheese on the tops of the scones.
10-Bake the scones in a preheated oven: Bake the scones in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. The scones would have risen and be a nice golden brown when they were done. Remove from the oven, and place the scone on a wire rack to cool down slightly before serving.