Little cheesy biscuits

[Jeanied]

Hi folks I thought I would post this recipe I found on the internet for cheese sablé biscuits which are soo easy to make and would be lovely to have on hand for the festive season!

The basic biscuit mix is:-
100g plain flour
100g butter
100g grated strong cheddar

mix the three together till you get a dough. Knead the dough briefly to get it thoroughly incorporated and roll into a long sausage shape about 4cm in diameter. Wrap up and chill for an hour or put in the freezer.

Cut slices from the roll of dough - this quantity makes about 50 biscuits, so aim for discs around 3-4 mm in depth. Lay them on a baking sheet covered with greaseproof / baking parchment. They spread a bit so leave some space between them.

Then the fun starts. The toppings I used were pinches of either paprika, grated parmesan, cumin seeds or a halved blanched almond. The recipe I found also advised poppy seeds but I didn't have any.

Brush each little biscuit with an egg wash made from one egg yolk and a tablespoon of water. For the ones you use a half almond on, press the almond lightly on the surface and egg wash over the top. For the rest, egg wash and then sprinkle the topping of your choice.

Bake at 190 degrees or equivalent for 6-8 minutes. Lift carefully off the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. Fight the gannets off from eating them all at once.

[vicky]

I make these with an egg yolk and 1/2 stock cube added too. Really tasty and you can cut and twist them into stick shapes which look like they were really hard to make!

[HeyWayne]

Sounds like my mum's cheese straw recipe. The one thing all of us look forward to her cooking.

[Nicos]

sounds lovely- do you use salted or unsalted butter??

[zazen999]

I am making these tonight. Just saying.

[Jeanied]

I used salted but I reckon unsalted would work as well - it depends on how salty your cheddar is!

*poddles off to the kitchen to make a batch for the freezer!

[zazen999]

Hmmmm.

I split my dough into 3.

Rolled it out into a square on cling film.

Spread one with paprika, one with pesto and one with my oven dried toms, that had been blitzed in the processor. Then rolled them up and put them in the freezer for 10 mins.

Proceeded as in the recipe. Mr Z says they are fantastic. I wonder if they will get to the 'do' tomorrow?

[Jeanied]

Wow - that sounds lovely Zaz. Sablé pinwheels! I think a photo is called for...

[zazen999]

I'm just waiting for the last batch to come out then will post one for you.

The tomato one, well, isn't as round as it should be. The frozen-ness of the oven dried toms froze the dough. And I couldn't be harrised to wait until it had warmed up completely to do the swiss rolling so it started to crack as it was rolled. But what the heck!

[zazen999]

Pic attached.

I think the paprika ones turned out best, with pesto the second best.

Thanks Jeanie for this recipe - it's fabulous.

Now to do some washing up.

[Jeanied]

I like the paprika mix on top the best but they are all fun! Thanks for the ideas Zaz - I love recipes that actually work!

[Jeanied]

OK with Zaz's experiments I reckon it would work with Marmite softened slightly by warming - brushed over - or for the meat eaters - Gentleman's Relish or patum peperium!

[FionaH]

This thread was going so well till you mentioned marmite! Bleurgh

[binley100]

I'm just wondering if it will reach Jeanie alright what with the Christmas post the way it is.........

[Jeanied]

I have to say, Binley, I will never forget the night your pastry recipe went viral across the internet - or at least across the vine . My big brother swears by it now - so proud!