Savory Cheese Cocktail Cookies

Recipe:

Ingredient Notes:

• Cheese. Any semi-hard cheese with a distinct flavor works well here. Options like Gouda, Emmental, Gruyère, or Cheddar are all great choices. This time, I went with a sharp Yellow Cheddar. If you want a more intense flavor profile, feel free to add a little finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino (about 20g).
• Butter. For a proper shortcrust, use butter with at least 80% fat content. Since we are making a “rubbed” or flaky dough (pâte brisée style), the butter must be ice-cold.
• Flour. This recipe calls for standard all-purpose flour with a protein content of around 10%.
• Milk. This acts as the binding agent. The fat content doesn’t matter much – in fact, you could even swap it for water. Just make sure the milk is cold when you add it.
• Worcestershire sauce. This is the secret to that deep, savory “umami” aroma. If you don’t have any on hand, you can simply skip it and replace it with an equal amount of milk or water.
• Spices. I added a pinch of cayenne pepper for a very subtle kick. You can increase the amount if you like it spicier, but don’t go overboard! 🙂 You can also complement the flavor with freshly ground black pepper, dried thyme, or rosemary. Adding herbs will completely transform the aromatic profile of the cookies.
  Chili powder can be used as a 1:1 substitute for cayenne pepper.

Let’s start cooking!

Place the flour, pepper, and butter into the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

Grate the cheese using a coarse grater.

Add the cheese to the butter-flour mixture in the food processor and pulse again.

Pour in the milk and Worcestershire sauce, then blend again. The dough will consist of large crumbs that hold their shape easily when pressed together.

Shape the dough into logs about 3 cm in diameter, then wrap them in plastic wrap.

Place them in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Remove the chilled dough from the plastic wrap and slice it into 5–6 mm thick slices.

Place the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C 350°F until golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Let cool and serve.

Enjoy!

Storage tip: These cookies will keep for about 2 weeks at room temperature in an airtight container.

This Savory Cheese Cocktail Cookies recipe was checked, prepared and approved by Chef Tatyana Nazaruk - author of FlavorIt.com.
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