Cheddar Spritz Crackers

For the holidays I like to make star-shaped buttery vanilla spritz cookies topped with Hershey's kisses aka "Nipple Cookies" but my current obsession with savoury cookies (they go better with booze!) led me to this recipe for savoury cheddar spritz crackers.
This recipe also gives me further justification for the cookie press that has been sitting in my pantry and comes out only at the holidays.
These are a spicy cheesy cookie, made with cheddar and a healthy dose of Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce. Spritz or cookie press cookies are a bit of a pain to make because you need to get into a bit of a rhythm with the cookie press. Too much pressure results in squished cookie blobs and too little the cookies will burn and the shape won't be perfect. I tried experimenting with a different design rather than delicate star shapes, because these shortbread don't taste dainty and I think the waffle pattern I chose is more fitting to a boldly flavoured spicy cookie.

Cheddar Spritz Crackers
Dairy
Makes: about 8 dozen cookies

• 1 lb sharp cheddar or aged swiss finely shredded
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
• dash of hot red pepper sauce
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, cream cheese, butter, Worcestershire sauce, and hot red pepper sauce until smooth.
   
2. In a separate bowl, mix flour and seasoning together.Gradually add in to cheese mixture. Mix until dough forms a smooth ball.
   
3. Shape dough into small logs and place in cookie press. Using desired shape, press shapes onto cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet on cooling rack. Remove from from sheet and continue to cool on rack.

Adapted from: Wilton Cookie Master Plus: Appetizers, Crackers and More! recipe and instruction booklet.

"Green Label" Cheese Straws

This recipe is from a vintage recipe booklet from a company called "Green Label," which I gleaned used to make some form of margarine or butter substitute. I liked the book because the recipes seemed reasonable by today's standards and because of this recipe for cheddar straws.
I also was intrigued because many of the recipes in the book have no butter or eggs and could be easily adapted for people with dietary restrictions. That being said this recipe is not one of those. It's main ingredient is cheese.
I substituted butter for the Green Label because I am not entirely sure just what Green Label is and because I like butter. Mmm butter.
The recipe is a basic pie pastry type preparation but with "nippy" cheese added to it to make things interesting. Mmm..."Nippy."
The only tricky part about this recipe is cutting the dough into thin strips and then transferring the strips to the baking sheet and once they were baked, transferring them to a rack to cool. Much breakage occurred. I ate the rejects.
Another tricky thing is that in vintage recipe fashion, the Green Label book was typically vague about the exact baking time of these straws. They are quite thin and bake at a high temperature so I settled on about 10 minutes when the straws began to brown at the edges. That being said depending on the size of your straws and your oven temperature, this is a recipe you have to watch.
You can't really go wrong inviting cheesy pastry to your cocktail party so I highly recommend trying these if only for nostalgia's sake.


Cheese Straws

makes: approximately 1 dozen straws

• 1 cup sifted flour
• 1 cup grated "nippy" cheese, i took this to mean cheddar
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• pinch of cayenne
• 6 tablespoons Green Label, I assumed Green Label was some kind of margarine. I used Butter
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• cold water

1. Blend flour, cheese, mustard, and cayenne. Cut in butter.
2. Mix Worcestershire sauce with 2 tablespoons cold water and work into Green Label mixture.
3. Work in just enough water to make a pastry.
4. Roll out to 1/4 -inch thick and cut into strips, approximately 5-inches long and 1/4 -inch wide.
5. Bake in 400 degree f oven until golden brown. This took me about 10 minutes. Leave the straws to firm up on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool as they will be less likely to crack that way.

Adapted From: Green Label Cookbook (date of publishing, unknown)

Parmesan Flan with Cherry Tomatoes

I am intrigued by the idea of savoury flans and custards (as well as shortbreads), because I think it's one of those things we expect to be sweet but using savoury elements like cheese and tomatoes and herbs as flavourings can create very interesting dishes...
I also just love eggs. they are kinda miraculous.
These custards are made by flavouring eggs and cream with parmesan cheese instead of sugar or vanilla and then poring the custard over sauteed cherry tomatoes. Sauteeing the tomatoes enhances their flavour and makes them sweet and juicy. Be careful when you eat them, however, as the tomatoes release water and can burst into like burning bubbles of delicious lava in your mouth, and itcan hurt if youre not prepared for that. I think they just need a few minutes to set when come out of the oven for the tomatoe juices to calm down. If I just came out of an oven I know I would.
These have so many delectable possibilities that I want to experiment with. I bet these would be amazing with sauteed mushrooms and thyme instead of tomatoes and basil...Think I'm on to something? ;)

Parmesan and Cherry Tomato Flan.

Makes 6

This is basically a quiche filling that gets poured into ramekins instead of into pastry and gets baked in a water bath to keep them super silky and fluffy.

I bet this would work really well with mushrooms, spinach, broccoli or different cheeses like asiago as well…The possibilities are endless.

• 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons basil (garnish)

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Butter 6 6-oz ramekins and line the bottom of each with parchment paper (I skipped the parchment because who wants to cut out all those little circles?) Butter the paper. Have ready a baking dish that can accommodate a water bath and 6 ramekins.
2. In a frying pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the tomatoes and sauté stirring often until they soften and the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons, about 6 minutes. Stir in the chopped basil and cook for 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the tomato mixture into the prepared ramekins, dividing it evenly among them.
3. In a bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and egg yolk until blended. Stir the cheese into the custard, and then divide the custard evenly among the ramekins.
4. Place the ramekins in the pan, and pour hot water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the custard is set, about 35 minutes. Carefully transfer the baking pan to wire rack, let custards cool slightly, then lift the ramekins out of the water bath.
5. To unmould, run a knife around the edge of the ramekins. Place a serving plate on top of each ramekin and invert. Lift off the ramekins and peel off the parchment if using. Serve topped with more tomatoes and garnish with basil. Serve warm.

Adapted from Williams Sonoma

Dried Cranberry Thyme Shortbread

I came across this recipe for a savoury shortbread in an old LCBO Food and Wine Magazine. The combination of fresh time, lemon zest and dried cranberries intrigued me because dried cranberries aren't often used in savoury baking recipes.

The shortbread are incredible easy to make, the buttery dough comes together quickly in the stand mixer, then gets rolled into logs and put in the fridge. Once firm, just slice and bake. The dough can even be frozen in logs to be baked off for impromptu hor's oeuvres.

These buttery, sweet and herbaceous shortbread are good served with cheeses, especially brie, added to a cheese plate, or just eaten as appetizer nibblers. They are also very festive.

Behold, Pack-man brie loves these shortbread:

Dried Cranberry Thyme Shortbread

Time: 1 hour

Makes about 45 shortbread

dairy

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ dried cranberries or cherries, coarsely chopped
• flour for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. With a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, rind, juice, salt and thyme. Cream until light and fluffy.
3. Stir in the flour and cranberries. Stir until combined and then remove from bowl and place on lightly floured surface.
4. Gently form the dough into a 12-inch log. Roll up in plastic wrap and place in fridge, allow to chill for at least 30 minutes.
5. Slice the log into ¼-inch medallions and place on baking sheet.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges become light golden.

From: LCBO Food and Drink Holiday 2007

Cherry Tomato Goat Cheese Clafoutis

Clafoutis is delicious. I wanted it for dinner. This is a savoury version of my favourite funny-sounding French food. I think I have said enough.

Cherry Tomato Clafoutis
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
scant 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 large eggs
1 cup milk (low fat is fine)
2 tbsp fresh basil, roughly chopped
1/3 cup cottage cheese/goat cheese/feta cheese
approx. 18 cherry tomatoes

Preheat oven to 425F. Lightly grease a 10-inch tart pan.
In a large mixing bowl, (or the food processor, if you don’t want to work by hand) whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, eggs, and milk until mixture is very smooth. Stir in basil and cheese.
Arrange cherry tomatoes over the bottom of the tart dish and pour custard mixture over and around them. Garnish with a few whole basil leaves, if desired.
Bake for 15 minutes at 425F. Turn oven down to 350F and bake an additional 25-30 minutes, until clafoutis is lightly browned and a tester (sharp knife) inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6

adapted from: Baking Bites.com

Savoury Rugelach

Traditional rugelach, which I have blogged about before, are Jewish cookies made of a cream cheese pastry topped with a sweet filling of jam, nuts, chocolate, or cinnamon sugar and rolled into distinctive croissant like shapes. This recipe is an innovative variation on that popular and delicious cookie. Instead of a sweet dough and filling, the cream cheese dough is made with herbs, and is rolled up with toasted pine nuts and black olive tapenade. The finished cookies can be eaten warm or room temperature as very addicting appetizers at a cocktail or dinner party. They can be made ahead and frozen. I love the idea of making savoury versions of traditionally sweet foods, and could see all kinds of flavour combinations in place of the tapenade, pine nut and herb combination used here....ie dill and smoked salmon rugelach,fig and goat cheese rugelach....the possibilities are endless!
This recipe uses 1/2 a block of cream cheese and makes about 16 rugelach...for a big party the recipe is easy to double.

Savoury Rugelach with Pine Nuts and Tapenade

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup cream cheese, softened
• About 1/2 cup olive tapenade
• About 1/ cup pine nuts

1. Whisk together flour, thyme, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

2. Beat together butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until well combined. Add the flour mixture and mix at a low speed until a soft dough forms. Gather dough into a ball, then halve dough, and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Flatten each half, in plastic wrap, forming a 4-inch disk. Refrigerate for six hours to allow gluten in dough to relax (I left it for only 2 hours dough was fine).

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Starting with one disk of dough, roll dough on a floured board into a 9’ round. Spread tapenade evenly over dough (spread thinly it doesn’t need a lot.). Sprinkle with pine nuts. Cut the round of dough into 16 wedges.

5. Beginning at base of wedge, roll up dough as tightly as possible toward point and transfer point side down to an unlined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and tapenade, arranging wedges f dough 1-1/2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:

Dough can be made one day ahead.

Can be served either warm or cold, reheat if desired at 325 for 10-12 min.

Adapted From: “Gourmet Today” ed. Ruth Reichl

I Sprained My Ankle and All I Got Was this Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

First lets talk about this crust.


This crust is different from your typical quiche vessel, because it is enriched with the addition of cornmeal and held together with sour cream and ice water. The dough is fairly easy to work with, but you should work quickly it softens fast—although that could also be the intense heat this time of year.

I never use pie weights so I skipped that step, but my crust did puff and warp a bit during baking though it did go back to it’s regular shape by the time it was done . When this crust comes out of the oven it smells like fresh cornbread and the thyme in the pastry adds a savory aroma that is irresistible and I couldn’t wait to make the filling so I could eat it.


For the tart itself, caramelized onions and crumbled goat cheese are loaded into the pie shell. All of this is topped with a pretty arrangement of oven roasted cherry or grape tomatoes. And then the egg custard is poured into the crust and baked. Simple , n’est-ce-pas?

But beware! The eggs and cream mixture makes a lot more custard than you need for this tart. So only pour in as much of the eggy mixture as you need. I blindly poured all of the custard in and it dribbled over the crust and ran into the sides of my pie plate. Definitely eyeball this part. If it looks full, it is full no matter how much custard you have left.

I also ended up needing to bake this longer than the instructions stated. The filling would just not set in the centre. I ended up baking the tart at least 10 minutes longer than the recipe stated. Because of my overbaking, the edges of the crust got a little dark (though miraculously I did not manage to burn it) So make sure you do a better job than I did of covering your crusts with tin foil. In retrospect I think the melty/liquidy goat cheese was partly to blame for this quiche’s refusal to set in the centre. (But I also need a scapegoat)

Another facet of the roasted tomato tart saga is that while this was baking, I stupidly decided to change a light bulb, slipped off a chair, and sprained my ankle. So I was checking for doneness all while cursing the baking gods and my swollen ankle.

Sprained ankle notwithstanding, this tart tastes amazing! It is rich and creamy because of the goat cheese. The roasted tomatoes are fragrant and their acidity balances out the sweetness of the onions and the richness of the filling. All of this in a tender crust that is scented with thyme and has the pleasant grittiness of cornbread. Since even my mishaps couldn’t destroy this tart, I conclude that it must be fool-proof. I would definitely try this recipe again, being wary of this experience, because it was definitely worth having to apply ice for the next few days.

Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

Makes one 9-inch quiche serves about 8

Dairy

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• ¾ cup crumbled goat cheese(about 3 oz)
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup milk1/4 cup 10% cream
• pinch each salt and pepper

Roasted grape (or cherry) tomatoes

• 1-1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or thyme (I used ½ teaspoon each dried)
• ½ teaspoon salt

Cornmeal pastry

• 1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cornmeal
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon each granulated sugar and salt
• ½ cup cold unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons ice water (approx)

1. Cornmeal Pastry: In bowl mix together flour, cornmeal, thyme, sugar, and salt. Using pastry blender cut in butter until in large crumbs. In a glass measure, whisk sour cream with water; drizzle over flour mixture, tossing with fork until dough comes together and adding up to 3 tablespoons more water if necessary. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: refrigerate for up to 24 hours)
2. On a lightly floured surface roll out pastry to scant ¼-inch thickness; fit into a 9-inch quiche dish or pie plate. Fold edge under, leaving1/4 inch above rim; flute or crimp edges with fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Line pie shell with foil; fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake in bottom third of 400 degree F oven until rim is light golden, about 20 minutes. Remove weights and foil; bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on rack. (I skipped the foil and pie weights. The crust shrank a little but otherwise didn’t warp too much.)
4. Roasted grape tomatoes: In bowl, gently toss together tomatoes, oil, rosemary, and salt. Bake cut side up on parchment lined baking sheet in 350 degree F oven until tender, 20-25 minutes. Let cool.
5. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; fry onions, stirring occasionally, until golden 15-20 minutes. Let cool.
6. Sprinkle goat cheese over pastry shell; spread with onions. Top with tomatoes, cut side up. In bowl, whisk eggs, milk, cream, salt and pepper; pour over top. Bake in 375 degree f oven until knife inserted in centre comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Let cool on rack for 10 minutes. (make ahead: Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Reheat in 350 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes.)

Adapted From: Canadian Living Magazine December 2008