Use a good British hard cheese such as Montgomery’s Cheddar, Lincolnshire Poacher, Spenwood or Old Winchester for these biscuits. This recipe makes about 15-20 biscuits which will keep well for about 2 days in an airtight container or they can be frozen for up to 3 months.
60g plain flour
A pinch of salt
About ¼ of a nutmeg, grated
45g cold butter, cut into cubes
60g good, hard, cheddar cheese (see above) grated
Put all the ingredients into a food processor and work to a soft ball of dough.
If you don’t have a food processor: Put the flour in a mixing bowl and stir in the salt and nutmeg.
Add the cubes of butter and rub them into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Use a fork to stir in the grated cheese and then use your hands to bring the mixture together to form a soft ball of dough.
Turn the dough onto a clean work surface and flatten it gently, and then wrap it and put it in the fridge for about 20 minutes to get very cold.
Lightly oil a baking tray.
Once the dough is cold, roll it out (it is easier to do this by putting the dough between two sheets of baking parchment). The ideal thickness would be that of a £1 coin.
Use a circular cutter (3-4cm diameter) to press out as many biscuits as possible – the dough can be re-rolled several times so there is no need to waste any.
Put the biscuits on the prepared baking tray (leave a gap of 1-2cm between them)
Preheat the oven to 180c
Put the uncooked biscuits in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up, and then bake them in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until they are light gold in colour.
Let them cool on a wire rack and then store them in an airtight container; they should keep well for about 2 days or freeze them for up to 3 months.
