Savory cookies (with Parmesan cheese) - 4 topping ideas

💙Why you'll love them

• Quick and easy - ready within 20 minutes, I swear they are such a cinch to prepare!
• Great snack - for savory food lovers, these cookies are a delicious treat that you can place on a charcuterie board, a cheese board, at a brunch, a cocktail party... And thy match especially well with a good glass of wine. You'll thank me later 🙂
• Versatile - I suggest 4 different topping ideas (and a bit more in the Variations section) so you can have as many choices as you like!
• Basic ingredients and equipment - no rolling pin, stand mixer, food processor or any complicated equipment required! Just a bowl and if you'd like, an ice-cream scoop.

🧀Notes on ingredients

You can find a full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below. Here are a few ingredient notes to make these delicious cookies.

• Unsalted butter - use good quality butter, with a minimum fat of 82%, which is what gives a good texture and such a delicious taste.
• Room temperature egg - ideally pasture-raised organic. You can refer to the Eco Tips I've written on eggs to help you choose the right ones.
• Flour - go for all-purpose flour.
• Cheeses - I used Parmesan cheese and grated Swiss cheese for the dough, but you can use different type of cheese, such as cheddar.

🌶️Variations

Feel free to change this recipe to go with your tastes. I suggest several options:

• Spices or seeds to flavor the dough - spicy cumin, paprika, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc... Or some red pepper flakes or a pinch of Cayenne pepper to spice it up.
• Goat cheese (which is one of the topping suggested), that you could replace with cream cheese, Blue cheese, mozzarella, burrata, etc...
• Fresh herbs, such as fresh thyme, basil, cilantro, rosemary, etc...
• More veggies - sun-dried tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, zucchini chips, etc...

This recipe has not been tested using any other substitutions. If you do try substituting ingredients, it may not turn out as it's meant to. Please leave a comment below letting me know if it worked out!

✨How to make these savory cookies?

Recipe details and quantities are in the recipe card below.

• Using your hands, roughly mix the softened butter and grated cheeses in a large bowl.
• Then add the egg, salt, black pepper, flour and baking soda. Mix gently with a tablespoon.

• Using an ice-cream scoop, scoop the cookies into balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper - space dough balls well apart, even if you have to make several batches, as they will spread when baked. Bake in the middle of the oven at 355°F/180°C, using natural convection/static heat up and down, for 12 minutes or until edges have a light golden brown color. It's normal for the cookies to come out soft, so don't leave them any longer.

• Leave to cool for a good fifteen minutes, removing the parchment paper from the baking sheet - they will harden and take on the right consistency in the open air.
• Add the toppings of your choice on top of your baked cookies (I've given you 4 options, the quantities for each option are for 2 cookies, so adjust them according to what you prefer) and enjoy!

👩🏻‍🍳Chef's tips

1. As European, I'm used to working in grams and milliliters. I really recommend using a digital scale for this recipe, which is much more precise. That way, you'll be sure to succeed with your recipes.
2. For best results, make sure you use softened butter, not melted butter - if you melt your butter instead of using soft butter, you risk ending up with flat cookies, or even patties! They'll also be much harder.
3. An ice-cream scoop for pretty cookies - this is completely optional, but if you have one, it's ideal for shaping your cookies. It's how you get them to be the same size and round. But if you don't have an ice-cream scoop, you can shape them into pretty little balls with your hands.
4. ‍Respect the baking time - the very first time I made cookies, I didn't know that they would take on their true consistency when they came out of the oven, in contact with the open air. So I left them much longer in the oven, to get a "normal" consistency...a fatal error! If you don't respect the baking time, you'll have concrete for your snack...
5. A "normal" consistency - take the cookies out of the oven and place the parchment paper they're on outside your oven tray, on a cold surface. If you have a cooling rack, that's even better. Wait a good fifteen minutes - as said above, the cookies will "harden" and reach a normal consistency in the open air. 
6. Adding toppings - don't add toppings to your cookies until just before serving, otherwise they'll go soggy.

❄️Storage and freezing

• Store - let them completely cool and store them, without any topping, in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
• Freeze - let them completely cool to room temperature, without any topping, then place them on a plate and in the freezer for 3 hours, to "pre-freeze" them. After that, place them in a freezer bag, remove as much air as possible, then seal the bag tightly before putting it in the freezer.
• Defrost - place them in a preheated oven (320°F/160°C) for 10 minutes approx. or until warmed through.

😋Other recipes you'll love

• Easy cheese stuffed breadsticks with garlic butter
• Air Fryer baked Brie with bacon and caramelized onions
• Homemade easy blini (mini pancakes)