Summer entertaining gets better when cheese shows up in the baking. From savory Midnight Moon thumbprint cookies to flaky pesto and Emmental twists, these recipes bring a richer, more unexpected energy to the snack table.
Midnight Moon Thumbprint Cookies
Image From: Cypress Grove
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups walnut pieces
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup Midnight Moon cheese
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- Powdered sugar for sprinkling
- 1/4 cup raspberry or other preserves
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Combine flour, walnuts, granulated sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse until the nuts are finely chopped.
- Add the cheese and the butter in several chunks.
- Process until mixture forms a soft dough.
- Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls.
- Place 1 1/2″ apart on lined cookie sheets.
- Press your thumb halfway into each ball.
- Bake cookies for 20-24 minutes. Let cool.
- Fill the depression in each cookie with preserves and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Comté, Pesto & Emmental Cheese Twists
Image From: Sodiaal
Ingredients:
For pesto:
- 50g pine nuts
- 80g basil
- 50g Comté finely grated
- 150 ml olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
For twists:
- 2 puff pastry sheets
- 200g of grated Emmental
- 4 tbsp Crème fraiche
- 1 egg yolk
- 10ml milk
Instructions:
- Heat a small frying pan over a low heat. Cook the pine nuts until golden, shaking occasionally.
- Put into a food processor with the basil, parmesan, olive oil, and garlic cloves. Set pesto aside.
- Spread the crème fraiche on the puff pastry sheet, top with pesto and an even layer of grated Emmental.
- Top with the second puff pastry sheet and place in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Preheat your oven at 350°F.
- Cut the filled puff pastry into 3/4″ wide strips and twist them.
- Brush with a mix of milk and egg, then bake in the oven for 15 minutes.