These cheese biscuits can be made up to three days in advance. Store them in a cookie tin until needed, and then serve as is or reheat in oven at 300 F (150 C) for 5 minutes. You can change the shapes and make sticks or squares with the dough.
Servings: 24 biscuits
Ready Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Wine Pairings: One big smorgasbord of appetizers could be suitably accompanied by a festive, dry sparkling wine. By all means keep it affordable, as in Italian Prosecco or Spanish cava. For an especially festive twist, turn that wine into a champagne cocktail by first dropping a sugar cube into the flute, soaking it with two or three dashes of cocktail bitters such as Angostura and adding a half-ounce of brandy. Then top up with sparkling wine. If serving just the cheese biscuits, bubbly would be nice, but you could alternatively try a strong Belgian beer such as Chimay. - Beppi Crosariol
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
21/2 cups old cheddar, grated
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
11/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
8 Medjool dates, pitted and cut into thirds
Method
Cream the butter until soft and fluffy in a food processor or by hand. Add the cheese and mustard, and process until well combined.
Mix together the flour, cayenne and salt in a large bowl. Add to the cheese mixture and combine until the mixture just holds together. Do not overmix. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
Divide the dough into 1 tbsp balls. Press down to form small disks.
Place on a baking sheet and place a piece of date onto each biscuit. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until pale gold. Serve warm or cold.
Lucy Waverman