Parmesan Cookies (biscuits)

Mr G has been out yachting as one of the crew on the beautiful White Swan, a 57-foot luxury yacht. When the yacht returns to the marina, the team have a few well earned beers, some nibbles, and Mr. G and friend play their guitars and sing to entertain the rest of the crew. For me, this is a good excuse to do some baking. So this time, I bought a nice selection of cheeses and made enough Parmesan biscuits for all the crew.

Parmesan Cookies

In Australia, we call cookies biscuits.

(Makes 50)

200 grams unsalted butter

200 grams plain flour

200 grams Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan) cheese

pinch salt

½ teaspoon hot (or sweet if preferred) paprika

black sesame seed to garnish

Pulse the butter and flour in a food processor briefly until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the cheese, salt and paprika. Process quickly until the dough forms a stiff ball. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, and then roll each piece into a log, about 3 cm (1 ½ inches) in diameter. Wrap the dough logs in parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and position a rack in the upper and lower third of the oven. Remove the logs from the refrigerator one at a time. Slice each log width-wise into 6mm (¼ inch) thick rounds and arrange the slices, well apart, on parchment lined baking sheet. sprinkle some sesame seeds on each biscuit. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden (turning them halfway if necessary to get evenly browned. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. They can be stored for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

The White Swan

The spinnaker