If your household dynamic is anything like mine, it’s always a good thing to have some tasty treats or snacks on hand, in addition to my family, there are always friends, houseguests passing by. As a consequence, I am always preparing either freshly baked or partially prepared goodies for the freezer. Having ready made items on hand takes time, but it pays off later as it is easy to rustle up something whenever needed. I always try to have things on hand to offer guests or to satisfy a hungry family member on the prowl for something to tide them over until dinner. I came up with these cheesy gems as I wanted to make a savory biscuit which could be eaten on its own or used as a base for some other additional topping to have with drinks or even teatime.
These cheese biscuit rounds are very easy to make and trust me when I say that they are delicious. Another great thing is that you can mix up the dough and either opt to use it immediately or freeze it to be baked later. The cheese dough freezes well and can be sliced up when defrosted for about 15 minutes. They bake in 20 minutes to the glee of your guests. These nibbles are the perfect accompaniment to offer before dinner with drinks or with your favorite cup of afternoon tea or coffee. I love the combination of cheese with walnuts and I think they work well together. I season the dough with dried spices, mustard, fresh parsley and a hint of cayenne pepper. This of course is optional, but I think it works well with the cheese and is not at all spicy.
In this recipe, I use a a mixture of Cheddar cheese and aged Edam which both have a good salt content. As a consequence, I didn’t add any extra salt to the recipe. I however did use a salted butter. If you opt to use an unsalted butter, then add 1 tsp of salt to the dough. The finely crushed walnut pieces are visually attractive on the outer edge. Not only do they provide an extra crunch, but the flavor of the toasted nut are so delicious. Make sure that you reserve some extra cheese to sprinkle atop the biscuits before baking.
If you’d like to serve the biscuits with a spread for an appetizer, serve it with a light creamy cheese spread. I thought they were pretty fabulous with a dab of cream cheese and some of my homemade pepper jelly.
Happy baking!!
Cheddar Edam Walnut Biscuits
Ingredients
4 ozs butter, room temperature
4 ozs cheddar cheese, grated + extra for sprinkling over biscuits
4 ozs aged Edam, finely grated + extra for finishing
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp cold water
Pinch of cayenne powder
3/4 cup walnuts, crushed
1 egg, beaten
Method
In a large bowl, beat the butter and grated cheeses together with a hand mixer.
Add the mustard, finely chopped parsley and dried seasonings and continue to beat together until fluffy.
Add the flour and incorporate on low speed.
Add 1 tbsp of water to combine.
On a flat surface, sprinkled with flour, roll the cheese dough into 2 logs about 6-8” in length.1 1/2” diameter.
Brush the logs with beaten egg.
Roll the cheese dough into crushed walnuts, covering all sides well.
Rolls of rolled biscuit dough with chopped walnuts
Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large sheet trays with parchment or silpats.
Slice the logs into thin rounds approx 1/8 “ thickness.You can reshape them carefully if they loose their round shape will slicing.
You can see that when I sliced the biscuits I had to reshape them. Frozen logs will slice easier into rounds.
No worries if they are not perfectly round… this adds charm and character!!
Place the rounds on the parchment and sprinkle extra Edam cheese over the biscuits and place in oven. Rotate pans once while baking to avoid browning on 1 particularly side.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until light golden. Do not allow to brown.
Cool and serve at room temperature.
Makes around 50 pieces.
Note, you can opt to slice them slightly thicker, but I prefer the biscuit to be slightly crisp. A thicker cut will be a little softer in contrast, so you may have to increase the baking time by a few minutes. Your yield will also decrease.
Baked Cheddar Edam Walnut Biscuits
I made some as a little homemade present for a good friend.