Cheesy and buttery with a little kick of spice – these Thyme and Cheddar Cheese Cookies are uniquely delicious savory cookies that are PERFECT as an appetizer recipe, on your cheese board, or even as an edible gift!
The dough can be made ahead of time and frozen for later. These thyme and cheddar cheese cookies can be served soft or crisp.
Savory cookies
I’ve got a really fun recipe to share with you guys today. I’ve already shared a slew of great cookie recipes in the last couple of weeks – like these classic thumbprint cookies, classic shortbread cookies, and these amazing chocolate chip cookies.
Today’s recipe is an effortless and fun twist on the classic shortbread – a delicious savory shortbread cookie! These Thyme and Cheddar Cheese Savory Shortbread Cookies are just as amazing as they sound! They are great as a party appetizer or even for your cheese board.
I recently made these for a pot luck along with some mini chicken taquitos, cocktail meatballs and fried cheese balls, and these savory cookies were easily (and perhaps even surprisingly) the highlight of the night!
Plus, these cheddar cheese cookies come together in a cinch and can even be made in a food processor.
Just like regular shortbread cookies, butter is the main ingredient for these savory shortbread cookies. But they are savory cookies, so there’s no sugar. These cheese cookies are flavored with thyme (dried or fresh), black pepper, and white cheddar cheese – insanely addictive and flavorful.
Can I make these savory cookies ahead of time?
Yep, the dough can be made a few days ahead and kept in the fridge, OR a month ahead and stored in the freezer.
And then when you’re ready to bake these thyme and cheddar cheese cookies, simply thaw out the dough in the fridge, slice and bake. Couldn’t be simpler.
What kind of cheese to make these cheese cookies?
I like to use a good quality white cheddar cheese for these savory cookies, since the cheese is the core flavor in these savory shortbread cookies.
But you can substitute the cheddar cheese with a different type of cheese as well, if you like. Some options are,
- Gruyere
- Gouda
- Muenster
Some less expensive cheese options
- Monterey jack
- Pepper jack
- Sharp or mild cheddar (the color of the cheese cookie will change then)
Since we love spice, black pepper is an absolute must for us. You can reduce the amount of black pepper or leave it out, if you’re making these cheddar cheese cookies for someone who isn’t a fan of spices.
I do highly recommend the black pepper though, because that combination of smoky, black pepper and sharp cheddar is just wild! Remember NOT to use finely ground black pepper however.
Use a coarsely ground black pepper or restaurant cracked black pepper instead. This way the cheese cookies will be studded with the coarsely ground black pepper, and the flavor won’t be overwhelming either.
And for thyme, I prefer using fresh thyme. It’s a pain in the ass to remove leaves from the stalk, but fresh thyme is so worth it. But if you only have access to dried thyme, that’s OK too.
Soft cheese cookies vs crisp cheese cookies
These savory shortbread cookies can be served either soft or crisp. That’s another way in which these savory cookies can be really versatile.
If you bake them for about 9 minutes, these cheese cookies will be buttery, cheesy and soft. And if you bake them for about 12-14 minutes (when the cookies are starting to color on the surface), they’ll be crumbly, cheesy and delightfully crisp.
How to serve these cookies
Here are a few options.
- Crackers for your cheese board – these savory cookies will go really well with soft cheeses and other pates that you would schmear on top of crackers.
- Top it with relish (like a strawberry chili relish or a sweet and spicy peach relish), or caramelized onions or dips or herbs for a delicious appetizer that you can serve at any party.
- OR enjoy them as a snack, just as they are! That’s what we like to do… mostly because we can’t bear sharing these with anyone else.
The base for these thyme and cheddar cheese cookies was inspired by a delicious cheese spread that one of my Aunt’s made me when I was little.
She’d make a whole tub of this cheese spread, and keep it in my grandmother’s fridge, and I’d spread it on everything!
These cheddar cheese cookies are like a crispy, crunchy, baked version of that cheese spread… all the cheese and buttery goodness, baked into a deliciously crisp savory cookie!
And if you want to indulge in some holiday spirit, these cheese cookies are perfect for sharing and gift giving too. 🙂
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If you like this savory cheese cookies recipe, you may also like,
Savory thumbprint cookies with bourbon tomato jam
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Thyme and Cheddar Cheese Cookies
Ingredients:
- 6 oz good quality white cheddar cheese from a block, not pre-shredded
- 4 oz unsalted butter ½ cup, 115 g softened
- 2 tsp cracked black pepper coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 ½ tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 heaped tsp of dried thyme
- ½ tsp sea salt cheddar cheese is salty too, so add more salt only if you’re using a different cheese
- 5.3 oz AP flour about 1 ¼ cup AP flour (spooned and leveled) / 150 g
Instructions:
- Shred the cheddar cheese using a grater (large grater holes are ideal).
- Place the butter, shredded cheese, black pepper, salt and thyme in a bowl and mix with a hand-held beater on medium speed. Mix for a few minutes until the butter is creamy and the cheese gets mixed in with the butter.
- Add the flour, and mix on low speed until the flour forms wet clumps (and there are no dry spots in the dough).
- Bring the dough together to form a dough ball. Knead it a little if needed (to bring it together). But don’t knead too much.
- Form an evenly shaped dough log that’s about 6-7 inches long. Wrap it in plastic wrap. Knot the two ends to form a tightly wrapped dough “sausage”. Refrigerate until the dough has chilled – about 30 min to 1 hour. You can also let it chill for up to 5 days in the fridge, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- When you’re ready to bake – remove the log from the fridge (or freezer). If the dough is too hard to cut through, let it thaw a little (so that it’s still chilled, but easier to cut). Unwrap the dough when you’re ready to slice it.
- With a sharp knife, cut ¼ inch thick discs from the dough log. Use your fingers to shape the cookies into nice round shapes, if they lose their shape a bit.
- Place the sliced cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking tray and let the tray chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Place the chilled cheese cookies on the parchment paper-lined half sheet pan, with about an inch of space between each cookie.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 – 12 minutes for a soft cheese cookie – remove the cookies from the oven when the bottom edges of the cookie are starting to color.
- Bake for 15 – 20 minutes for a crispy cheese cookie – remove from the oven when the cookies start turning golden in color on top.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely. Repeat with the remaining sliced cookies (make sure the half sheet pan is at room temperature for this second batch of cookies – so either use a new half sheet pan, or cool down the previous one to room temp. first).
- Place the cooled cookies in an air-tight container for up to 4 days. OR wrap them in plastic wrap, and then in foil, and store in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
fi says
Hi. I just made the dough of this recipe yesterday. Had a bit of the raw bits. It tastes so good. But I’m not able to form the dough. I weighed all the measurements exactly, but the dough is crumbly. I tried gathering the dough with my hands, hoping to warm the butter enough to meld everything together. Not really coming together like a dough.
How do I salvage this? Is it too late to add a bit of water like another user mentioned?
Dini says
Hi Fi
The butter should be more than enough for the dough to form. The dough is not meant to be very wet, but just enough to stick together.
But depending on the flour you use the moisture needed can change slightly. In this case, you can add a little water to bring the dough together.
I hope that helps
SHARON LEE says
I am grateful that you put up this recipe! So thank you! You are the best ! I am craving for a nice savoury cookie and this is it!
Laila says
Hi, I would love to make these, but would I be able to use GF flour for this recipe? Thanks.
Dini says
Hi Laila
Unfortunately I haven’t tried to make these GF flour, so I can’t be sure how well they will turn out.
The best best is to try a 1:1 gluten free flour blend (like Bobs Red mill), and see if it will work. There will definitely be changes to the texture as the GF Flour may not bind as well and slicing into individual cookies might be harder.
Sorry I couldn’t provide more information.
Susu says
Excellent recipe! I have made it several times as posted, and also made it with grated garlic, and subbed in some bacon fat for part of the butter, because I had some and it needed using. It doesn’t always hold together, so if necessary I add a little water or something. That’s what cooking is about, managing what one has.
Tracy says
Really delicious savory cookies. I have to deduct a star because it’s NOT 1/2 cup butter, it’s 1 cup butter. I’m not a baker but I knew I had to add more butter as the mixture was not forming.
Dini says
Hi Tracy
1/2 cup of butter is correct. I created this recipe after testing it multiple times, so I am sure of the ingredient amounts that I have provided. Especially since many others have also made this recipe with successful results.
If you did require more butter for your dough, then it is possible you may have added too much dry ingredients. This can happen if you used volume measurements instead of weight measurements. Using cups to measure dry ingredients can cause variations depending on how you fill the measuring cups, which you can read about here.
I hope that helps!
WE says
I do love these cookies but there are some corrections which is why I am giving the recipe 3 stars. The cookies get 4 stars.
Issues: You write in your recipe 4 ounces of butter which is HALF (1/2) a cup. But then in comments someone in 2021 from Canada says you meant to say 1 CUP of butter and then you indicate that is correct and you will update the recipe BUT the recipe still says 1/2 cup.
The other major issue I have is that the PREP time is NOT 15 minutes. Grating the cheese; grinding the pepper and mixing not once but twice AND the butter & cheese gets stuck in the cutter blades so you have to remove that a couple of times. This all takes more than 15 minutes. It takes at least 30 minutes (if you are super fast). I am big on accuracy so I would appreciate you making those corrections. Thanks.
Dini says
Hi WE
I’m not entirely sure which comment you’re referring to.
I do not say that the ingredients should be 1 cup in the comments. It was always 1/2 a cup.
The recipe previously did not adjust the cup measurements when serving sizes are increased, but that feature has been added to the recipe now. I think this is the comment you are referring to?
However, there is no change to the amount of butter in the recipe at all.
As for the prep time, if all the ingredients are out, it would only take me 15 – 20 minutes to grate and mix the batter. But I have added extra time to newer recipes to account for others who may take longer than I do to prep for the recipe.
Thank you.
Mahila Maya says
I was wondering, can the dough be rolled out flat for the use of cookie cutters to make/shape/cut the cookies?
Dini says
Hi Mahila
You can! The reason why I don’t is because there will be a lot of wasted dough. The leftover dough scraps can be re-rolled, but the more you handle the dough, the more tough and rubbery the cookies will be. This method helps to preserve the shortbread like texture.
Hope that helps
Ghaniya says
Great recipes. You are so talented
Brandi N. says
Yum!!! I just tested this recipe and it came out great so I’m taking them to Easter dinner with a Harry & David pepper and onion relish dip, as an appetizer. I didn’t have thyme but I had rosemary so I used that, and it is so savory and delicious. Thank you for a great recipe!
Annika says
BEST. COOKIES. EVER. oh my goodness this was so easy and super delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe with the world!
Megan K says
I loved this recipe so much… I made it 1 night and gifted it to neighbours immediately… but then I made it again and it was too crumbly so I added a bit of water then I probably worked it too much as it was tough 🙁 I am trying it again… thank you!
Lisa Bredin says
Wanted to give these as a Christmas gift and therefore made a double batch. Unfortunately, the pepper amount was just too overpowering. Otherwise delicious.
Tjrich says
OK, I used dried thyme and lactose-free old white cheddar on the first batch. I cooled the dough wrapped up in plastic but missed the part about cooling after the cookies were cut before baking them.
Then, fresh thyme with orange-coloured lactose-free old cheddar was used on the second batch. And I followed the cooling instructions to the letter before baking.
The verdict – everyone liked the first batch more than the second.
Colleen says
An excellent recipe. Nice amount of pepper and herbs. I would not change a thing. I had them on a cheese board for guests last night and received many compliments and requests for the recipe.