Parmesan and Cheddar Sables

with cayenne pepper and rosemary

Cheesy and buttery, these sables make for a very delicious and easy canapé. You can make the dough in advance, wrap it in cling film and store it in the fridge beforehand, then simply slice it up and bake it when your guests arrive, which makes your kitchen smell incredible.

Cutting the sables slightly thicker will give you a neater, softer biscuit, whereas slicing them thinly will give you a crispier, more delicate and spread out biscuit. I personally prefer them somewhere between the two.

Our soft cake and pastry flour creates a lovely short dough perfect for these. Smoked paprika also adds a nice note in place of cayenne pepper for an alternative.

Makes 25 sables

INGREDIENTS

  • 125g chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1 cm cubes
  • 125g soft cake and pastry flour (or plain flour)
  • 60g Parmesan, finely grated
  • 60g Cheddar, finely grated
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • generous grating of black pepper
  • 1 sprig of rosemary, leaves stripped and very finely chopped (to make roughly 1 tsp chopped rosemary)

METHOD

Rub the butter and cheese into the flour using your finger tips until you achieve a breadcrumb-like texture. Add the salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper and rosemary and combine into a dough. Roll it into a cylinder and wrap it in cling film to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour (or you can leave the dough in overnight in preparation for the following day).

When you are ready to bake your sables, preheat your oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with baking parchment. You may need to bake them in batches.

Slice the dough into sables roughly 4-5mm thick. Place on the baking trays allowing each room to spread, and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden. Leave to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Serve warm from the oven to accompany drinks for an evening canapé.

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