Description
These Chili Cheese Savory Shortbread Bites are deliciously buttery, crumbly, and packed with a blend of strong cheddar, Parmesan, and Gruyere cheeses, delicately spiced with chili flakes and fresh rosemary. Perfectly golden and crisp, these elegant little cheese stars make an ideal snack for holiday entertaining or gifting, offering a sophisticated twist on classic cheddar crackers.
Ingredients
Scale
Cheese Blend
- 1 cup (100 g) strong cheddar cheese, sliced
- 1/2 cup (50 g) Parmesan cheese, sliced
- 1/2 cup (50 g) Gruyere cheese, sliced
Dough
- 210 g unsalted butter, cold and sliced into cubes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon za’atar (or dried thyme)
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 1/4 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour)
- 1-2 teaspoons cold water (optional, to help dough come together)
Instructions
- Prepare the cheese: Slice the cheddar, Parmesan, and Gruyere into smaller pieces. Place them into a food processor bowl and blitz until shredded.
- Make the dough: Add the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, chili flakes, za’atar, salt, cold cubed butter, and fresh rosemary to the food processor with the cheese. Pulse the mixture until it forms a soft, slightly lumpy dough that clumps together. If the dough appears dry, add 1-2 teaspoons of cold water to help it come together. If too greasy, add 1 tablespoon of extra flour.
- Roll out the dough: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top, then roll it out into a rough rectangle about 1/2 inch thick using a rolling pin.
- Cut the shapes: Use a star-shaped cookie cutter (or any preferred shape) to cut out cookies from the dough. Gather the scraps, re-roll, and continue cutting until all dough is used. Place the cut cookies onto a lined baking tray. If the dough is sticky, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm it up for easier handling.
- Chill the cookies: Chill the tray of cookie shapes in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15 minutes. This helps the cookies hold their shape when baking.
- Preheat the oven: While the cookies chill, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C fan).
- Bake the cookies: Transfer the chilled cookie tray to the preheated oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the edges turn golden. The tops should remain slightly pale for the perfect texture.
- Cool the cookies: Remove the tray from the oven and let the cookies cool on it for about 5 minutes to firm up. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely, where they will crisp up wonderfully.
Notes
- These shortbread bites are buttery, crumbly, and just a bit spicy, making them dangerously easy to snack on.
- Perfect for holiday entertaining or gifting, they offer a more elegant and boujee alternative to standard cheddar crackers.
- Weighing ingredients provides the most accurate results; a digital kitchen scale is highly recommended.
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can make the dough by hand by rubbing the butter into the flour and cheese until it resembles breadcrumbs, then adding chili flakes, za’atar, rosemary, salt, and binding with cold water as needed.
- Chilling the dough before baking is key to maintaining tidy cookie shapes, especially with cutouts like stars.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 cookies
- Calories: 177 kcal
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 103 mg
- Fat: 12.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.8 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
