So here is a little treat for you: cheese biscuits, done in under half an hour.
The treat I enjoy the most, is the savoury type, the one that often involves cheese. Whilst tiny cheese platters can appear in a split second; a hasty combination of fridge, cupboard and fruit bowl contents, these biscuits are even more special as they bring in an extra crunch.
These are the cheese biscuits that have saved me plenty of times when friends visited last minute, Greek style let’s say, back in the day when we could get together without a second thought (damn you lockdown). Yes, it is the perfect beer snack and no-one will complain if you serve them with a glass of wine either. Currently I’m making batches to entertain myself whilst binge watching on Netflix. Almost like popcorn.
To make them, you need only a handful of ingredients: a bit of flour, some cheese, herb of choice and an egg. You most likely have all the ingredients waiting for you. It’s these simple little somethings that make our days a little brighter. Talking of Netflix, I think it takes less time to make these cheese biscuits than to decide what to watch.
For the cheese, a hard, salty yellow will work wonders. I used cheddar in mine but feel free to experiment, any type of gruyere will melt in very nicely and hold the dough together. Although I normally make it and consume straight away, they keep for 3-4 days in an air tight container. If you can resist temptation.
Cheese biscuits
Ingredients
- 160 gr all purpose flour
- 100 gr butter in cubes, cold
- 1 large egg yolk only
- 100 gr yellow grated cheese I used cheddar
- ½ tspn thyme
- A bit of pepper
For topping
- 1 egg white to brush diluted with a bit of water
- Nigella seeds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven at 180C/gas mark 4.
- Place the flour along with the thyme in a bowl and mix.
- Add the cold butter in the bowl and mix with the tip of your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the cheese, grated and keep mixing by hand.
- Finally add in the egg yolk (keep the white for brushing) and use a fork to mix it in.
- Use your hand to form the dough until it no longer stick to the side of the bowl.
- Place the dough on a surface lightly dusted with flour and roll it out at about 0.5 cm. Use a cookie cutter to shape and transfer on a lined baking tray, spacing them apart. For the leftover dough, simply reshape, roll out again and cut in the shapes you like until you use it all up.
- Before baking, brush the tops with the egg wash ( egg white from 1 egg plus 1 tablespoon of water)
- Sprinkle with nigella seeds or other seeds of your liking.
- They will be ready in 20 minutes, when the tops get a golden colour.
- You can keep them in an air-tight container up to 3 days.
So, cheese biscuits are ready! You can bring out some fruit and nuts to accompany them. It can easily make for a light, indulgent and effortless snack. And chutneys are wonderful with them if you have any lying around.
From London with love,
Eugenia
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