Today's recipe is a simple and fun twist on the classic shortbread – savory Thyme and Cheddar Cheese Cookies! These tasty treats are perfect for parties or to add to your cheese board.
Making these cheddar cheese cookies is a breeze, and you can even use a food processor. Just like regular shortbread, butter is the key ingredient, but these savory cookies skip the sugar. Flavored with thyme (dried or fresh), black pepper, and white cheddar cheese, they are incredibly addictive and flavorful.
Ingredients:
▢ 6 oz good quality white cheddar cheese from a block, not pre-shredded
▢ ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
▢ 2 tsp cracked black pepper (coarsely ground)
▢ 1 ½ tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 heaped tsp of dried thyme
▢ ½ tsp sea salt (cheddar cheese is salty too, so add more salt only if you’re using a different cheese)
▢ 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
Instructions:
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Shred the cheddar cheese using a grater (large grater holes are ideal).
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Place the butter, shredded cheese, black pepper, salt and thyme in a bowl and mix with a hand-held beater on medium speed. Mix for a few minutes until the butter is creamy and the cheese gets mixed in with the butter.
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Add the flour, and mix on low speed until the flour forms wet clumps (and there are no dry spots in the dough).
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Bring the dough together to form a dough ball. Knead it a little if needed (to bring it together). But don't knead too much.
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Form an evenly shaped dough log that's about 6-7 inches long. Wrap it in plastic wrap. Knot the two ends to form a tightly wrapped dough “sausage”. Refrigerate until the dough has chilled - about 30 min to 1 hour. You can also let it chill for up to 5 days in the fridge, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
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When you're ready to bake - remove the log from the fridge (or freezer). If the dough is too hard to cut through, let it thaw a little (so that it's still chilled, but easier to cut). Unwrap the dough when you’re ready to slice it.
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With a sharp knife, cut ¼ inch thick discs from the dough log. Use your fingers to shape the cookies into nice round shapes, if they lose their shape a bit.
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Place the sliced cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking tray and let the tray chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
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Place the chilled cheese cookies on the parchment paper-lined half sheet pan, with about an inch of space between each cookie.
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Bake in preheated oven for 10 - 12 minutes for a soft cheese cookie - remove the cookies from the oven when the bottom edges of the cookie are starting to color.
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Bake for 15 - 20 minutes for a crispy cheese cookie - remove from the oven when the cookies start turning golden in color on top.
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Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely. Repeat with the remaining sliced cookies (make sure the half sheet pan is at room temperature for this second batch of cookies - so either use a new half sheet pan, or cool down the previous one to room temp. first).
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Place the cooled cookies in an air-tight container for up to 4 days. OR wrap them in plastic wrap, and then in foil, and store in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 1 month.
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Serve at room temperature.