Savory Shortbread
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (1 cup)
2 oz freshly shredded Gouda (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon minced fresh Thyme *
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Preparation
Shred the Gouda cheese using the larger grater holes. In bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter for 1 minute. With mixer on low add the Parmesan cheese, shredded gouda, thyme, salt & pepper.
With mixer on low, add flour and combine until the mixture is in large crumbles, about 1 minute. If dough is too dry, add 1 teaspoon water until the mixture comes together in crumbles without dry flour
Place on a floured board, press into a ball and roll into 9-inch log.
Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 days. You can even freeze at this point for about a month for future use.
When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut log into ¼ inch rounds and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 20-22 minutes, flipping them over halfway during baking to get both sides nice and brown. Cool on sheet pan for 10 minutes, and then on wire rack for another 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container.
Serves 6
Tips
*It can be time consuming to take fresh thyme leaves off the stems, but that fresh thyme flavor is SO worth it in this recipe. Remove the leaves by holding a sprig of thyme at the top and sliding your fingers down to the bottom – that should remove the leaves and small soft stems. You can then chop up some of the soft stems with the leaves (not too many though, the leaves are what have all that wonderful flavor!).
