Name: Spiced cheese biscuits
Total time: 25 min
Yield: Makes 40
Ingredients: 100g unsalted butter chilled; 100g plain or white spelt flour; a good pinch cayenne pepper; a good grating nutmeg; ½ tsp caraway seeds; 50g cheddar (or Cornish Kern, comté or Lincolnshire Poacher) grated; 50g parmesan grated, plus extra to serve; 1 tsp sesame seeds; flavourless oil for the tray

A blue marble slate topped with little golden cheese biscuits

100g unsalted butter
chilled
100g plain or white spelt flour
a good pinch cayenne pepper
a good grating nutmeg
½ tsp caraway seeds
50g cheddar (or Cornish Kern, comté or Lincolnshire Poacher)
grated
50g parmesan
grated, plus extra to serve
1 tsp sesame seeds
flavourless oil
for the tray

Method

step 1
Put all of the ingredients, except for the sesame seeds and oil, into a food processor and pulse in short bursts to combine, forming a dough – it should be a similar texture to mashed potato. Lay out a some baking paper and scoop out the dough into the middle to form a long log, about 2½cm in thickness and 35cm in length. Roll up into a sausage shape, then peel back the paper and evenly scatter over the sesame seeds. Wrap and chill for at least an hour. Can be chilled for up to one week or frozen for three months.
step 2
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Cut into slices, about 8mm thick. Arrange the biscuits on a large oiled baking tray, 2cm apart, and cook for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly, then either serve warm, covered with extra freshly grated parmesan, or allow to cool and crisp up completely.