Stilton Biscuits

[Devilkitty]

Stilton Biscuits

Serves 48 as Amuseor 24 as Hors d'oeuvre.

I customarily make these as Parmigiano biscuits to go with drinks or as a savory. One weekend I happened to have a chunk of Stilton around and was feeling experimental...

Absolutely lovely with Port or beer.

These work well using almost any strong semi-hard or hard cheese: Parmigiano, aged Asiago, Gruyere, Roquefort; whatever you like. Different cheeses may require slight adjustments in baking time.

• 150 g Butter
  
• 150 g AP flour, preferably unbleached
  
• 150 g Stilton, finely crumbled (or grated coarsely)
  
• Pinch or two of Cayenne pepper (optional, though it points up the cheese nicely)
  

1. Cut the butter into small (1 cm or so) cubes and pop it into the freezer for ten to fifteen minutes.

2. Rub the flour, optional cayenne, and butter together (or pulse in the food processor) until blended, but still slightly crumbly.

3. Add the cheese and mix gently (or go lightly on the pulse button); make sure the cheese is well-distributed.

4. Shape into a cylinder approximately 4 cm in diameter.

At this point, the cylinder can be rolled in finely crushed somethings, if desired - walnuts would work well with Stilton. Wrap the cylinder of dough in plastic, and refrigerate at least two hours.

5. Preheat oven to 350F. and line a baking sheet with parchment.

6. When ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap, and cut as many 3-4 mm thick discs as will fit comfortably on the sheet. (They will spread a little, so allow a good 2cm between them.) Return the unused dough to the refrigerator.

7. Bake for 15 minutes at 350F., and let them cool a few minutes on the sheet before transferring to a rack.

8. Repeat 6 and 7 until all the dough is used.

9. Get ready to do it again, as they tend to disappear in a hurry.

Keywords: Amuse, Easy, Cheese, Snack, Cookie, Hors d'oeuvre

( RG960 )