I found a very simple recipe on BBC Food by Simon Hopkinson, for Parmesan biscuitsl with cheddar cheese too. I do love a savoury biscuit so I was very keen to make them.
The recipe is so simple and these can be made and ready to eat within an hour. Although I followed the recipe precisely, as I had all the ingredients already, it is easy to swap out some ingredients for others. So, for example, if you don”t have mustard powder you might use something like garlic powder or some mixed herbs. Similarly cayenne pepper can be swapped out for another spice. Indeed the cheeses can be changed too, Lancashire, Red Leicester, Wensleydale etc would all be good in place of Cheddar. Grana Padano is a good substitute for parmesan too.
The biscuits are quite small but, again, you can change this and make larger ones if you wish. The small ones were perfect for me. They turned out very well indeed and I found it difficult to stop eating them.
Ingredients:
- 100g(2/3 cup/ 3 1/2 oz) plain flour
- 100g(7 tbsp/ 3 1/2 oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 50g(1 3/4 oz, about a cup not packed in) cheddar cheese ,finely grated
- 50g(1 3/4 oz, about a cup not packed in) parmesan, finely grated
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- pinch of salt
- 1 heaped tsp mustard powder
- 1 egg, beaten
- more parmesan to grate on top
Method:
- Put all the ingredients, except the egg and extra parmesan, into the bowl of a food processor.
- Process to mix together, when all fully combined pulse the processor repeatedly until the mixture starts to clump together.
- Remove the dough from the processor and use your hands to press into a ball and flatten to a disc.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350.
- Line a couple of baking trays with parchment paper.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a thickness of about 6mm/1/4 inch, the thickness of two one pound coins on top of each other.
- Use a 2 inch cookie cutter to cut out circles, or use the fluted side for a patterned edge, of dough and place them on the baking trays, leaving a gap of 3/4 inch between each.
- Brush the tops lightly with some of the beaten egg.
- Sprinkle or grate a little extra parmesan on the top of each disc of dough.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until they are a light golden brown.
- Use a thin spatula to carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container if not eaten immediately.