Saturday, July 31, 2010

Cookie Carnival: Rosemary-Cheese Spritz Cookies

When Tami of Tami's Table Talk announced that this Rosemary-Cheese Spritz Cookie was the July cookie for the Cookie Carnival she hosts on her blog, my first reaction was, "Ewwww!". But when I looked at the picture and recipe I decided it actually looked and sounded promising. Maybe even tasty.

And tasty they were; delicious, rich, buttery, and irresistible are other words I'd use. As they cooled I popped one after another in my mouth--you know, just. one. more. Gracious they were good. I absolutely couldn't leave them alone.

These came together much like a sweet cookie, but they are very cheesy, and the fresh rosemary added a wonderful, sharp herbiness (it's a word). And I loved that I got to use my cookie press for something other than Push Cookies, a cookie my sister and I grew up making with my mother's cookie press (that we used so much we eventually wore it out). You can use any of the disks that come with your press; I used the disk that makes an oval cookie.

I made these as an accompaniment to minestrone soup, but I think they would be awesome as part of an appetizer bar...a little fruit, a little hard salami, and some of these bites of cheesy-deliciousness. Perfect.

Oh, and the smell as they cooked? Heaven.

Note: Since these aren't sweet cookies made with a bunch of sugar, my high-altitude adjustment was just 1 additional tablespoon of flour.

Rosemary-Cheese Spritz Cookies (from the Food Network Kitchens)

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 large egg yolk
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup finely grated Asiago cheese (recipe called for Pecorino)
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (recipe called for 1 tsp fine salt)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (recipe called for pinch fresh ground)

1. Bring all the ingredients to room temperature.

2. Beat the butter and lemon zest with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Slowly beat in the egg yolk and heavy cream.

3. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, Asiago, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, sugar, rosemary, salt, and nutmeg. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture while mixing slowly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium speed to make a slightly sticky dough. (this actually took longer than a normal cookie, and I scraped the bowl and mixed several times before the dough came together. So be patient :)

4. Fill the cookie press with the dough. Assemble the press with the disk you want to use, and press the cookies onto ungreased baking sheets (I used three). Leave about 1 inch between the cookies (I had more space between my cookies, which is probably why I ended up needing three baking sheets). Sprinkle the cookies with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

5. Heat your oven to 325. Bake the cookies until they are golden and smell nutty (and amazingly cheesy), 20-25 minutes. I suggest you keep the cookies in the fridge until you cook them. Briefly cool the cookies on the pan and then transfer them to racks or paper towels to cool completely.

The Food Network recipe says you can store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 month, which is great, but I do not see how they would last that long without being eaten. We ate ours up within a couple days.

6 comments:

  1. Your cookies look absolutely delicious. I love the shape you chose. I didn't choose this recipe because it seemed too labor-intensive, but I might have to dust the cookie press off to try it out after seeing your pics.

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  2. I agree, they sound like they'd be perfect on an appetizer bar! I didn't attempt these as I don't have a cookie press, but they look and sound wonderful!

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  3. Mmm, now that I look at your crackers/cookies, I want to make them again (and get a cookie press). These really are addictive and good.

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  4. They look wonderfull! hope to see you again on another challenge.

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  5. Oh my gosh, these sound heavenly! I've been on a bit of a spritz kick and these look like a perfect addition to my new years eve party!

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  6. I love the idea of a savory cookie! These sound really good :)

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