I pride myself on being able to turn leftovers into something shiny, new and delicious. But I struggled forever to come up with an elegant and exciting way to use up the sad, lonely butts of cheese left on a cheese platter at the end of a party. Enter my friend Marybeth Albright, writer, cook and hostess extraordinaire, who blew my mind with her clever, simple technique for savory cheese cookies. They’re so good, in fact, that after seeing them save your leftover cheese board once, you’ll be buying fresh cheese just to bake them into these light, tender, totally addictive snacks.
Since cheese can vary greatly in texture and flavor, I’ve come up with three recipes for different types of cheese: hard, soft and semi-soft, and blue. Each of these recipes can be transformed; don’t be bashful about adding chopped herbs, bits of zest or a pinch of your favorite spice.
Three Kinds of Killer Cheese Cookies
Makes at least 30 cookies per recipe
For hard and semi-hard cheeses (Parmesan, Cheddar, Gruyere, Gouda, etc.)
8 ounces hard-ish cheese, broken into chunks (super-hard rinds don’t count)
¾ cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Up to 2 tablespoons of milk (if needed)
For blue cheeses
8 ounces blue cheese, in chunks (make sure the rinds aren’t too funky, or cut them off)
¾ cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter, cut in pieces
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup dried fruit (like cranberries, raisins, cherries or apricots)
Up to 2 tablespoons of milk (if needed)
For soft and semi-soft cheeses (Brie, Camembert, Goat)
6 ounces soft cheese, divided in half
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons butter, cut in pieces
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup nuts (pecans and walnuts work well)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 small white onion, finely diced and caramelized
Up to 2 tablespoons of milk (if needed)
Brown sugar, to taste
For all recipes:
Whirl it together: Combine all ingredients, except for the milk, in a food processor. (For the soft cheese version, save one half of the cheese for later.) Run for about 20 seconds or until the mixture is even, crumbly and sticks together when you press it with your fingers.
Add milk (maybe): If the mixture looks too dry and won’t stick together, turn on the food processor and add milk, one tablespoon at a time. With soft cheeses like goat, brie, camembert and some blue cheese, you might not need any milk at all.
Roll dough and chill: Dump the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and roll into an even log about 1½” wide. If you want, you can flatten the sides so that the ends are square. Roll tightly in parchment and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven and slice: Preheat oven to 375° F. Remove log from the refrigerator and slice ¼” to ½” cookies from the log, placing onto a silicone or parchment-lined baking sheet. If your log is square-shaped, turn it ¼ turn after each cut to retain the square shape.
Drop thumbprints (for soft cheese version only): After slicing, indent the center of the cookies with your thumb. Set ½” cubes or, if the cheese is too soft to cut, spoon a little glob of cheese into the thumbprint, followed by a little sprinkle of brown sugar.
Bake and serve: Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. For a chewy texture, serve warm. If you want a crisp cookie, let cool before serving.
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