To make the dough: Combine flour, salt, cayenne and black pepper in a bowl.
Place dry mix into the well of a food processor. Drop in the butter cut into chunks. Pulse to combine, chopping the butter in with the dry ingredients to create small pea-sized clumps. Add the cheese and thyme and pulse a few more times to mix. Run food processor on low until dough forms, about 4 minutes.
Shape dough into disc, wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
To bake: Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Cut dough with 1½-inch circular or fluted cookie or biscuit cutters. Place onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Cool on pan.
Serve immediately or store in airtight container.
Leicester Cheese Shortbreads
Ingredients
2 cups grated Leicester cheese
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of black pepper
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon finely chopped thyme
Directions
To make the dough: Combine flour, salt, cayenne and black pepper in a bowl.
Place dry mix into the well of a food processor. Drop in the butter cut into chunks. Pulse to combine, chopping the butter in with the dry ingredients to create small pea-sized clumps. Add the cheese and thyme and pulse a few more times to mix. Run food processor on low until dough forms, about 4 minutes.
Shape dough into disc, wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
To bake: Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Cut dough with 1½-inch circular or fluted cookie or biscuit cutters. Place onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Cool on pan.
Serve immediately or store in airtight container.
Leicester Cheese Shortbreads
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Tender, flaky savoury shortbreads made with Leicester cheese, butter, a pinch of cayenne and freshly chopped thyme…
Your next party needs these LEICESTER CHEESE SHORTBREADS!
This recipe for homemade savoury shortbreads is one of my favourites. I love these small, flavourful, two-bite wafers of cheesy deliciousness, and also how easy they are to make and serve. If your parties are like mine, where guests often congregate in the kitchen for munchies and refreshments, then let these be your next must-make recipe. Simply bake them off, place them out, and just watch these LEICESTER CHEESE SHORTBREADS disappear in record time.
If PARTY SNACKS are what brought you here today, yippee because we’ve got lots of them. Click HERE to view a roundup of some of our favourites. We do suggest you keep balance in mind when planning your get-together – pick a few hot and cold items, then make sure you’ve got a mix of vegetarian, meat, poultry and seafood options. Nowadays, having a gluten-free or dairy-free offering is a nice touch too.
Here are some tips on making our LEICESTER CHEESE SHORTBREADS:
INGREDIENTS
Don’t worry, your eyes are not deceiving you; this recipe requires just seven ingredients. The only one that might require a call-ahead to the grocery store is the cheese, but even that shouldn’t pose too much trouble. Everything else is readily available. Pro tip: keep these ingredients at the ready – this will become one of your party snack staples.
BUTTER AND FLOUR
Just a quick reminder that we use unsalted butter in all of our recipes. Having the butter at room temperature before you start will also help make the process way easier. With regards to the flour, we suggest an unbleached all-purpose variety, although whole wheat and even gluten-free flour has been known to work too – just saying!
CHEESE
Pronounced “lester”, I’ll go on record saying that my perfect world has this recipe using only LEICESTER CHEESE. Months ago I saw a hunk of it sitting all by its lonesome in the grocery store up here in cottage country, so I picked it up. I then got to work on creating something that plays up its pleasing nutty, slightly sweet flavour profile. These shortbreads are the result.
When purchasing, look for it labelled as RED LEICESTER CHEESE. Made using cow’s milk, I find the cheeses aged eight months are not only more flavourful, but also have a firmer texture that makes them easier to grate for this recipe.
SEASONING
Kosher salt with a pinch each of cayenne and black peppers does the trick to give our shortbreads just the right level of salt, spice and heat. During testing, I also added some freshly chopped thyme both for aroma and flavour and love how this essential herb pairs with the nuttiness of the cheese – yummy!
MAKE
Yes, you can pull the dough for these savoury shortbreads together by hand, but if you have a food processor, use it. Making this dough with the food processor takes less than ten minutes; just stir the dry ingredients together, pulse them with butter, then pulse everything together with the cheese and thyme. Seriously, let this machine make the recipe for you, LOL!
BAKE
Rolling the dough out to a ¼-inch thickness on a floured surface is also very easy. Then cut the shortbreads into circular shapes, place onto a parchment-lined baking sheets and bake away. Make sure to carefully lift one when they first come out of the oven. I want you to see that perfectly golden, melted butter and cheese underside. Now, eat it. Ha! Told you they were amazing!
ENJOY
As mentioned, there’s no need to make a big deal out of serving these. Of course you can place them out on a gorgeous heirloom tray or fancy serving plate if that’s your style, yet I do think the “straight from the baking sheet” approach is also pretty charming. It shows a certain confidence – they’re so good, best to grab a few before they’re gone! There’s nothing more fun than a party food free-for-all!
Last thing, these fabulous shortbreads make a nice host gift too. Wrap up a dozen or so in a little cellophane bag and bring them to a get-together with a bottle of wine or flowers. Your friends will be like “Well, look at you getting all Weekend at the Cottage on us!” Do it! We like how you roll!
LEICESTER CHEESE SHORTBREADS, appearing for only a short time at your next party!
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Ingredients
2 cups grated Leicester cheese
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of black pepper
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon finely chopped thyme
Directions
To make the dough: Combine flour, salt, cayenne and black pepper in a bowl.
Place dry mix into the well of a food processor. Drop in the butter cut into chunks. Pulse to combine, chopping the butter in with the dry ingredients to create small pea-sized clumps. Add the cheese and thyme and pulse a few more times to mix. Run food processor on low until dough forms, about 4 minutes.
Shape dough into disc, wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
To bake: Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Cut dough with 1½-inch circular or fluted cookie or biscuit cutters. Place onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Cool on pan.
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