Savory cheese and sesame pastries
Are you thinking about setting out a little appetizer for Easter (or other special) dinner? Consider these savory cheese pastries. The recipe is from my dear Aunt Amy, who was an elegant, gracious lady and a fabulous cook. What's nice is that they provide just a small bite of something--not too much--before a grand meal. And though I'm showing these as an appetizer, they also make a festive garnish for a entree or starter salad.
You can go directly to the printable recipe--or, I'll show you how to make these, step-by-step...
Here's what you'll need ingredient-wise...
...and here's some equipment that will come in handy: parchment paper (for rolling out the dough) a fluted pastry wheel (for cutting the dough) and a small spatula (for handling the cut, but uncooked, pastries).
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Spread 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds on a sheet pan. Toast the seeds in the 400-degree oven for about 5 to 7 minutes, just until fragrant. Set the seeds aside and let cool them completely.
~ While the seeds are cooling, we can prepare the mise en place. ~
3) Cut 1/3 cup unsalted butter into small cubes...
...and place in a small bowl.
Put the butter cubes in the freezer to chill while we prepare the other ingredients. (Notice the small butterfat convention going on in this section of my freezer.)
4) Measure out 1 cup of flour and transfer it to a food processor.
4) To the flour add 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
5) Grate 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Note I'm doing this on a paper towel so that...
...I can easily transfer the cheese to the measuring cup.
6) Put the grated cup of cheese in a medium bowl. Take about 1 tablespoon of the flour from the food processor and mix it in with the cheese. Lightly flouring the cheese will make it easier to incorporate it into the pastry.
7) In a small measuring cup, combine 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce...
... and about 4 drops of Tabasco sauce...
...and 3 tablespoons of cold water.
8) Stir the liquids together.
~ Now we're ready to form the pastry dough. ~
9) Using the food processor, pulse the flour/salt mixture a few times so that they are well-combined.
10) Take the butter pieces out of the freezer and add them to the food processor...
...give the flour/butter mixture 5 or 6 one-second pulses with the food processor. You want the mixture to still have some pea-sized pieces of butter (which will help make the pastries flaky).
11) Transfer the flour mixture to a large mixing bowl (here you can maybe see more clearly some of the pea-size pieces of butter)...
...add in the toasted (but completely cooled) sesame seeds...
...and add the grated cheese.
12) Mix the dry ingredients together so that they are well-combined.
13) Now we are going to gradually drizzle in the liquid mixture. As you can see I've tossed a couple of ice cubes into the liquid to make sure it's cold. Drizzle in a bit of liquid and toss the mixture with a fork. Continue drizzling and tossing just until...
...the mixture barely holds together, as shown here. You may not need to use all of the liquid--or you may need add a little extra plain water. Thus is the inexact science of pastry-making.
14) Form the dough into a squarish shape and wrap tightly with plastic wrap (in this odd photo the dough looks somewhat like a UFO, but you get the idea).
~ Let the dough chill and rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.~
15) On to rolling out the dough. You may have a favorite method for rolling out pastry dough. Here, I'm rolling the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Not only in this much less messy than flouring the counter, it avoids adding more flour into the dough (which can make it tough).
16) Here's the dough rolled out. It should be about 1/8" thick. I could have done a better job getting the dough into a more rectangular shape, but that's O.K.
17) Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut 1" wide lengthwise strips...
...now we'll cut the pastry crosswise. Because I didn't roll the dough out in an exact rectangle, the strips on each side are shorter. So, I cut them separately crosswise into 3" pieces (note how I'm using the little spatula to lift the uncooked pastry off the parchment so I can transfer it to an ungreased baking sheet)...
...once I get into the center section though, I can cut crosswise across multiple strips to form the pastries...
...here they are ready to go into the oven.
18) Bake the pastries, in the preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven, for 10-12 minutes, until they are lightly golden brown. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.
19) Arrange on a platter and serve.
Savory Cheese and Sesame Pastries
Makes about 24 pastries
1/4 cup raw (untoasted) sesame seeds
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup very cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 drops Tabasco sauce
3 tablespoons cold water
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spread the sesame seeds out on a sheet pan. Toast 5 to 7 minutes, just until fragrant. Let cool completely and set aside.
- In a food processor, combine the flour and salt using a couple of one-second pulses.
- Add the butter pieces to the food processor. Combine the flour and butter using 5 or 6 one-second pulses. There should be some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining in the mixture.
- Empty the flour/butter mixture into a large bowl. Add the cheese and the cooled sesame seeds.
- In a small measuring cup, combine the Worcestershire, Tabasco, and cold water.
- Sprinkle some of the liquid over flour mixture and toss with a fork to combine. Continue adding liquid and tossing lightly, just until mixture holds together. Add another teaspoon or so of water if necessary.
- Roll out the dough to 1/8" thick. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut into 1" wide by 3" long strips. Place on ungreased sheet. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12 minutes, until the pastries are lightly golden brown.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! To view more step-by-step recipes, see the complete recipe index.
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