Savoury Shortbread Recipes

PARMESAN SHORTBREAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Process the butter, flour and parmesan in a food processor until a wet crumbly dough; OR
• Alternative method: Place the flour and butter into a bowl and use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until a crumble dough forms. Then add the parmesan cheese and use your fingers to rub it into the mixture.
• If you are making rosemary biscuits, add the rosemary at the same time as the parmesan cheese.
• Lightly flour a surface and turn the dough out onto it. Knead to bring together, then shape into two logs with a diameter of around 3 cm / 1.2" and about 15cm/6" in length.
• Wrap with cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. (Note 2)
• Preheat oven to 180°C/350F. Line 1 large baking tray or 2 ordinary baking trays with baking paper (parchment paper).
• Remove the log from the fridge and use a sharp knife to cut the log into 7mm/ 1/3" thick rounds.
• Place the biscuits onto the baking tray at least 2cm / 1" apart.
• Bake biscuits for 12 minutes or until light golden.
• Stand on trays for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

SAVORY SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Add flour and cayenne pepper to the bowl of a food processor; pulse to combine. Add butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
• Add cheese to the food processor; pulse until combined. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
• Using a fork, stir in milk and Worcestershire sauce until well combined. Have ready several pieces of parchment paper.
• Form mixture into two 1-inch-diameter logs, and wrap in parchment. Transfer the logs to the refrigerator, and chill until very firm, at least 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove logs from refrigerator, and cut each one into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place the rounds on prepared baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.
• Bake the shortbread until golden, about 12 minutes, rotating baking sheets between shelves halfway through baking.
• Transfer shortbread to wire racks to cool. Bake remaining dough. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.

SAVOURY CHRISTMAS SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip the butter, flour, stuffing mix and cheese into a medium bowl and mix well into a dough using a wooden spoon.
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a 5mm thickness and use a cutter of your choice to stamp out as many biscuits as you can. If needed, re-roll the trimmings and repeat until you've used up all the dough.
• Transfer the biscuits to a generously buttered baking tray and bake for 10-12 mins until lightly golden at the edges. Leave to cool completely on the tray - they will firm up more as they cool. Scatter over another grating of cheese before serving.

SAVORY MIXED-NUT SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, rosemary sprig and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook over medium, swirling occasionally, until the butter is just melted. (You can also do this in a bowl in the microwave, stirring between 30-second bursts). Set aside to cool slightly. (Take a whiff of the butter; it smells like rosemary!)
• In an ungreased 9-by-13-by-2-inch pan, use a fork to stir together the flour, sugar and cayenne until combined. Remove and discard the rosemary sprig from the butter. Pour the melted butter into the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork to combine, then use your hands to mix until no dry spots remain.
• Press the dough evenly into the pan. Prick all over with a fork. Sprinkle the nuts and rosemary leaves on top, shake into a single layer, then press firmly into the dough until the nuts' sides are surrounded by dough. (This is important, otherwise the nuts won't adhere.) Sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoon sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
• Bake until golden brown (including in the center) and the edges start to pull away from the sides, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Let cool completely, then gently break up with your hands into jagged pieces. Nuts along the edge may fall out. (Those are yours to eat.) The shortbread will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

PARMESAN SHORTBREADS

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients together - using bowl and spoon, electric mixer or food processor as wished - until a golden dough begins to form a clump. Turn it out onto a surface and knead for about 30 seconds until smooth, then divide into two. Take the first half and, using your hands, roll it into a cylinder, as uniform as possible without stressing over it, about 3cm / 1¼ inches in diameter. Make sure the ends are flat, too, so that the cylinder resembles a roll of coins. Now roll this up in a piece of clingfilm, twisting the clingfilm at the ends, like a Christmas cracker, and put the roll in the fridge, then proceed in the same way with the remaining half of the dough. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/gas mark 4/350ºF while the wrapped cylinders of dough rest in the fridge for about 45 minutes, by which time you should be able to cut them into thick slices easily: aim for about 1cm / ½ inch thick. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes, when they should be just beginning to turn a pale gold at the edges. Remove from the oven, then leave to cool (if you can) before eating.