Description
Buttery, crumbly, beautifully cheesy, and just a little spicy, these beautiful chili cheese shortbread stars are dangerously easy to eat – and just as easy to make. Perfect for holiday entertaining or gifting, they’re basically the boujee, elegant version of a cheddar cracker.
I highly recommend you weigh your ingredients for this recipe for the most accurate results. I use a cheap digital scale I picked up on Amazon, and it’s one of my most used kitchen items!
Ingredients
For the chili-cheese shortbread -
- 100g strong cheddar (1 cup)
- 50g Parmesan (1/2 cup)
- 50g Gruyere (1/2 cup)
- 210g unsalted butter, cold and sliced into cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon za'atar (or dried thyme)
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 220g all-purpose flour (1 1/4 cups)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour)
Equipment -
- Food processor (you can make the dough by hand - I've given instructions in the recipe notes).
Instructions
- Grate the cheese. I like to do this in the food processor for ease. Slice the cheese into smaller pieces, then add it to the bowl of your food processor. Blitz until shredded.
- Make the dough. Add 220g all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of chili flakes, 1 teaspoon of za’atar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the cold, cubed butter, and the fresh rosemary leaves to the bowl. Pulse until the mixture starts to form a soft dough – it should clump together and look a little lumpy. PRO TIP: If it looks a bit dry, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of cold water to help bring it together. And if it’s a bit greasy, add 1 tablespoon of extra flour.
- Roll out the dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle the top with a little flour, then use a rolling pin to roll it out into a rough rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick.
- Shape the cookies. Use a star cookie cutter (or any shape you like!) to cut the dough into little stars. Re-roll the scraps and continue cutting out your cookies until you’ve used all your dough. Place the cookies onto a lined baking tray. PRO TIP: If you’re finding the dough sticky at all, wrap it in plastic wrap (clingfilm) and pop it into the fridge for about 15 minutes to firm up a bit. This will make it easier to roll and cut out your stars.
- Chill the cookies. This is key if you want tidy cookies that keep their shape in the oven (this is less important if you’re just making round cookies). Pop the tray into the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or (if you have space), into the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Bake the cookies. While the cookies chill, heat your oven to 350°F (180°C fan). When ready, transfer the cooled cookies, still on their tray, to the oven, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until gorgeously golden around the edges. The tops will still be a little pale – this is what you want.
- Let them cool, and enjoy. Remove the tray from the oven, and leave the cookies to cool on it for about five minutes to firm up a little, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. They’ll still be a little soft at this point, but will crisp up wonderfully as they cool.
Notes
PREP AHEAD: You can make the cookie dough up to 3 days ahead of time, and store it tightly wrapped in the fridge until you’re ready to form the cookies. Similarly, you can cut out your cookies, then cover them and pop them in the fridge on their tray for up to 3 days too.
FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS: You can also freeze the unbaked dough and unbaked cookies for up to 3 months. You can bake the cookies straight from frozen – just add a couple of minutes onto the cooking time.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The baked cookies will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.
HOW TO PREVENT YOUR COOKIES FROM SPREADING: This recipe has been designed to stop this happening if you follow the steps above – there’s a little less butter than a traditional shortbread ratio (to account for the fat in the cheese), and there’s a little more flour to add structure. Cornstarch also helps to add stability to the cookies. And, if you chill them before baking, they shouldn’t spread.
MAKE THEM YOUR OWN: You can play around with this base recipe – just try to keep the ratios the same. Swap rosemary for thyme or sage, Gruyere for more cheddar, more Parmesan, Manchego, or flavored cheddar. You could turn them into cacio e pepe cookies by swapping the chili and za’atar for freshly ground black pepper. Smoked paprika is also an excellent addition here, as are black sesame seeds, or nigella seeds.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: These lovely cookies are PERFECT for grazing boards – add them to a Christmas charcuterie wreath or pop them onto this Wicked themed grazing board. I love them as a boujee little bite with a glass of wine or a cocktail when entertaining, or you could use them as croutons in a salad, or on top of soups (they’d pair wonderfully with this roasted tomato and red pepper soup or roasted cauliflower cheese soup). And of course, they are fabulous for gifting, especially over the festive season, as an alternative to sweet cookies for fellow savory lovers.
NO FOOD PROCESSOR? In a large bowl, mix the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it looks sandy, then mix in the grated cheese, chili flakes, za’atar, cornstarch, salt, and finely chopped rosemary. You’ll want to knead the dough a little to bring it together, and that’s it.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 12
- Category: baking
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 cookies
- Calories: 177
- Sugar: 0.1g
- Sodium: 103mg
- Fat: 12.7g
- Saturated Fat: 7.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 10.8g
- Fiber: 0.4g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 35mg