These savoury cheese biscuits bites are a mix of cheddar, hazelnuts
Recently I had a depressing experience; movie night. Now at the end of a long week, I love nothing more than being able to sit down with a really good beer and some type of snack and just relax. It might be watching a movie, if I were back in Canada I’d be checking out the game, or if my brain isn’t completely fried I’ll read a good book. Getting the right beer with the right snack is crucial for setting the mood. I’m talking about a good Belgium, German, Chezch, Irish or British beer. But it is the snack that I’m talking about here.
We had the movie, we had a delicious beer, and then I bought a bag of crisps/potato chips. Now, normally the Brits have really good crips. Great flavours like prawn cocktail, Aberdeen beef and mature cheddar and onion (these are really awesome). However, this bag did not meet expectations; they were flavourless and stale. Such a letdown. Desperate I started to raid our fridge for a snack alternative – and enter these savour cheese biscuits.
‘Savoury Cheese Biscuits: They are so deceptively simple to make with a spicy crunch and ridiculously tasty’
Now, I’m not sure if the word biscuit is the right. They are too big to be a cheese cracker, too savoury to be a shortbread. However, they are so deceptively simple to make with a spicy crunch and ridiculously tasty. All you need is a food processor and an oven.
Essentially you are blitzing the ingredients together and then quickly baking them in the oven. The first batch I made was dry, too dry. They felt like they were sucking all the moisture out of your mouth. So, my solution was to up the butter and cheese content, but also to watch how they mixed together.
In many ways, like shortbread, you don’t want to overwork the dough of these savoury cheese biscuits. Just enough so that it comes together. A pinch of sea salt, and 15min in the oven and you will be rewarded with these incredible bursts of flavour.
Honestly, this savoury cheese biscuit recipe is so easy and a crowd pleaser. My mother brought a tray to a drinks party and they were devoured.
Pairings
Drinks – A good beer, I’d suggest a good Belgium beer
Music – San Francisco by The Mowgli’s
Savoury Cheese Biscuits
Ingredients
- 135 g All-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Hot smoked paprika
- 57 g Cold unsalted butter diced
- 227 g Strong cheddar cheese, grated or cubed.
- 30 g Hazelnuts – ideally skinless
- 3-4 tbsp Cold water
Instructions
- In a food procession, blitz the hazelnuts into small pieces (not dust!)Add flour, salt, paprika, butter, and pulse to have it resemble coarse texture. Add the cheese and pulse to combine.
- Starting with 1 tbsp of cold water, add and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball. You might not need all the water. Wrap and stick in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350F at least 15min before using.
- Roll out dough to just under 1/2 a cm thick, and use a cookie cutter about the size of a toonie. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Bake for about 15-20min. Keep an eye so they don’t burn, but they should be golden brown and fully baked.
Also good for a crowd
The Just for Adults Chip Butty
Bacon and Cheddar Cheese Curds Bites (from SpicedBlog)
Homemade Chicken Fries (from Real Food by Dad)
I like the sound of this recipe, especially the hot smoked paprika.
These sound great–and like they’d be a great little nibble for the Super Bowl!
Oh my goodness could these little biscuits be any cuter?! I love the idea of adding hazelnuts and paprika, although, I could see myself snacking on them and watching Netflix which could be tres dangereux. Perfectly festive any time of year!
I’ve done that. Delicious at the time, but definitely needed to hit the gym the next day!
You almost make these sound too easy, Matt! I love a good biscuit, especially one that involves cheese. These are totally snack worthy and I would have no problem enjoying some of these over chips (though I do love those too 😉 ).
Easy solution, have both!
Those chip flavours sound amazing. Why don’t we have that in Canada?? However, it was a fortunate thing that you ended up with a bad bag, because, these biscuits! They look delectable and I love the crunch of hazelnuts in with all that cheesy – ness!
Well, we do have all dressed, dill pickle and ketchup chips in Canada, and those are pretty delicious in their own right!
Hazelnuts in cheese biscuits! So clever. I bet the nuttiness is terrific. Fresh biscuits are one of my weaknesses – I sometimes end up making a meal out of them when they’re fresh from the oven!!
These sound perfect for the holidays. I love a good biscuit and the cheesier the better!