Savory Shortbread Cookies
Who knew they could fit so beautifully into our lives?
I’ve been under the weather the past few weeks which is why I haven’t shown up in your inbox lately. While recovering it’s been nagging at me that I haven’t sent out a recipe in so long, let alone not being able to cook and bake as much as I usually do. Yesterday I got a very timely email from someone on the Substack research team saying, “Our data shows that you recently started using the Substack app and then stopped (at least temporarily), and l'd love to learn more about that.” What great timing because I’m back, baby!
Today I’m here to share a new and somewhat surprising recipe for savory, cheesy shortbread cookies. Surprising because savory cookies aren’t something I’m used to and before the idea emerged this week, I’ve never considered making a savory cookie. On impulse I decided to test it out. I’m not yet sure how they fit into the cookie canon and other than eating them on their own (warning, they’re addicting) I could see these as a nice building block for canapés. I’m envisioning them with a whipped, herby mascarpone and caviar, or cream cheese with smoked salmon. Maybe they could do well in the world of tinned fish. Hell, just throw a slice of tomato on there and that would be super nice too, I think.
Shortbread cookies are amazing for their versatility and fool-proofness and lend themselves beautifully to experimentation of flavors. Like, you could have an everything shortbread cookie, or sundried tomato cookie, miso sesame scallion, etc. etc.! But for this week, I tried 2 cheesy versions and was going to share the “winner”. But, how can you possibly declare a favorite child? The first I can only describe as an elegantly rustic Cheez-It (Parmesan Corn Flour) and the second I’m calling Cacio E Pepe Shortbread (thanks for the name idea, Aaron!).
You can cut them thin, making the cookie more crisp and cracker-esque (but don’t call them crackers). Or, you can cut into thicker slices, resulting in a more traditional, tender shortbread cookie texture.
Parmesan Corn Flour Shortbread Cookies
100g | 7 tbsp Unsalted Butter
22g | 1/8 cup light brown sugar
40g | 2 tbsp white miso
100g | 1 cup parmesan cheese + more for coating the dough
100g corn flour
75g AP flour
4g | salt
1 egg
In a stand or hand mixer, whip the butter, light brown sugar, and white miso together until it’s light and fluffy.
To this, add the parmesan cheese, corn flour, AP flour and salt. Mix until everything is combined and large crumbs have formed. It won’t look like dough at this stage.
Using your hands work the crumbs together by pressing and kneading until a delicate dough forms. It will be fairly easy for the dough to break apart when handled since this isn’t a wet dough. Don’t worry! The flour will continue to hydrate as it rests.
Once you’ve been able to form the dough into a ball, cut off a piece of parchment paper and place it on a clean counter. Place the dough on top of the parchment and using your hands, make the dough into a log first and then wrap it with the parchment. Once the dough is wrapped, you should roll it again on the counter so that it’s more of a cylindrical log shape.
Let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour (and up to a few days) where the flours will continue to hydrate and chilling will make it easier to cut and handle.
Once it’s chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cover a baking sheet with grated parmesan cheese and set aside
While the oven is heating, take the dough out of the fridge and unwrap. Apply the egg wash using either of the following methods you prefer: 1) whisk the egg in a bowl and apply it to the outside of dough log using a brush, or 2) whisk the egg in a large enough dish that allows you to roll the entire log in
Once egg wash is applied, roll the log of dough on the baking sheet with parmesan cheese such that the cheese coats the entire outside of the dough.
Once it’s coated, use a very sharp knife to cut the log into however thin or thick you want the cookies to be. Thinner will be a more crisp cookie, with less baking time. Thicker will be a more traditional, tender shortbread cookie texture.
Place the slices of cookie on a parchment-lined baking sheet (you can reuse the parchment you wrapped the dough in) and sprinkle each with flakey salt.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. Depending on how thick/thin your cookies are will affect the time, so be sure to check in after about 10 minutes if they’re thinner. You’ll want them to look darker golden brown around the edges and they should start becoming golden on top, at which point they should be taken out of the oven. As they cool, they will continue to crisp up.
Cacio e Pepe Shortbread Cookies
125g | 1 stick + 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
22g | 1/8 cup granulated sugar
100g | 1 cup pecorino cheese
175g AP flour
4g | 1 tsp salt
5g black pepper | 2 tsp
In a stand or hand mixer, whip the butter, and sugar together until it’s light and fluffy.
Add the pecorino cheese, flour and salt. Mix until everything is combined and large crumbs have formed. It won’t look like dough at this stage.
Using your hands work the crumbs together by pressing and kneading until a delicate dough forms. It will be fairly easy for the dough to break apart when handled since this isn’t a wet dough. Don’t worry! The flour will continue to hydrate as it rests.
Once you’ve been able to pull the dough together into a ball, cut off a piece of parchment paper and place it on a clean counter. Place the dough on top of the parchment and using your hands, first make the dough into a log-like shape and then wrap it with the parchment. Once the dough is wrapped, you should roll it again on the counter so that it’s more of a true cylindrical log shape.
Let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour (and up to a few days) where the flours will continue to hydrate and chilling will make it easier to cut and handle.
Once it’s chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the oven has heated to 350, use a very sharp knife to cut the log of dough into however thin or thick you want the cookies to be. Thinner will be a more crisp cookie, with less baking time. Thicker will be a more traditional, delicate shortbread cookie texture.
Place the slices of cookie on a parchment-lined baking sheet (you can reuse the parchment you wrapped the dough in) and sprinkle each with flakey salt.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. Depending on how thick/thin your cookies are will affect the time, so be sure to check in after about 10 minutes if they’re thinner. You’ll want them to look golden brown around the edges and they should start browning on top, at which point they should be taken out of the oven. As they cool, they will continue to crisp up.
these are so tasty! thank you 😊