Easy Cheese Sablés (Savory Shortbread Cookies)
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These cheese sablés are a common French apèro snack that deserve to be more well-known. Cheesy, buttery, crumbly crackers with a touch of mustard and warming spices that really make them shine. Perfection with a glass of wine.
I baked (and ate) my first cheese sablés in pastry school, and my first reaction was “what are THESE?” A savory version of a shortbread cookie, these sablés are packed with sharp cheddar flavor. And my method uses a quick slice-and-bake dough, so no fussing with rolling pins or cookie cutters.
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Why You’ll Love These Cheese Sables
- Perfect for entertaining: add to a charcuterie platter, or just serve with a bowl of marinated olives and a glass of wine
- Only 5 ingredients: cheese, flour, spices, and butter
- So easy: just blend, chill, slice, and bake
- Great for make-ahead: the dough can rest in the refrigerator until you’re ready
🥗 Ingredients
- Cheddar Cheese: Look for the sharpest cheddar you can find. It really shines in these savory cookies. I like Cabot’s Seriously Sharp or an aged cheddar. You can substitute parmesan for some of the cheddar if you like.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is all you need.
- Spices: I like some dried mustard powder and smoked paprika to add a little kick to the dough. Pimente d’espelette or chili powder would also work, and you could try adding garlic powder as well.
- Butter: Either unsalted or salted butter will work for these crackers.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
- Grate 6 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese.
2. Then add shredded cheese to a food processor, along with 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon mustard powder, ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Pulse until small crumbs form.
3. Cut 6 tablespoons of softened butter into pieces and add to food processor. Blend until mixture balls up around the edges of the food processor bowl.
4. Tip the mixture onto a large piece of parchment paper and form into a roughly 1 ½-inch-diameter roll.
5. Use the parchment to even and smooth out the roll. Wrap the parchment around the dough, and secure by twisting each end. Chill for 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 350° F while the dough is chilling.
7. Unwrap the dough and slice into ¼-inch-thick coins. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 14-16 minutes, until edges are golden brown.
Let cool on the sheet pan for several minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
Storage Tips
Cheese sables can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Cheese Sablés
The word “sablé” means sandy in French, referring to the crumbly texture of classic shortbread cookies. They’re usually sweet, but there are savory versions as well, like these cheese sablés.
Yes. Wrap the dough log tightly in parchment paper, then plastic wrap. Or put the parchment-wrapped log into a large freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Then slice and bake! If the dough is very cold, you may need to add a minute or 2 to the bake time.
You can, although these cookies are most delicious with a strong-flavored cheese. Parmesan cheese works well, and you could also play around with combining blue cheese with cheddar, gruyère, or comté for more flavor.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
Make sure to buy a block of cheese and grate it yourself rather than buying pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that negatively affect the texture of the dough.
If you don’t want to shred your cheese manually, use the grating disk on your food processor. Then proceed with the recipe.
Want to get fancy with these? Rather than using the slice and bake method, you can pat the dough into a flat disk before chilling. Then on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to ¼-inch thick and use a small cookie cutter to cut out the crackers. Using a small biscuit cutter with fluted edges is particularly cute!
You can make this sablé dough well in advance. You can keep the dough log in the refrigerator for up to two days, or wrap it in plastic and put it in the freezer for up to two months.
Want to play around with flavors? Think about trying different spices, or adding in some fresh herbs. Chopped rosemary and chopped thyme would be lovely in these sables. You can also add a pinch of cayenne pepper for some spice.
What to Serve with Cheese Sablés
Honestly these savory shortbread cookies are the perfect nibble alongside a glass of wine or champagne. They also make a great addition to a full charcuterie board. Serve them with small bowls of olives and nuts. You might even top them with some prosciutto or sliced sausage or pair them with some fig jam. So many delicious options!
Other Apèro Recipes
Want to put together a delicious appetizer spread? Check out some of my other favorite recipes for apèro hour!
If you try this Cheese Sables recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Slice and Bake Cheese Sablés
Ingredients
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika or pimente d’espelette
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
Instructions
- Grate cheese.
- Add shredded cheese to a food processor, along with flour, mustard powder, smoked paprika, kosher salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Pulse until small crumbs form.
- Cut butter into pieces and add to food processor. Blend until mixture balls up around the edges of the food processor bowl.
- Tip the mixture onto a large piece of parchment paper and form into a roughly 1 ½-inch-diameter roll.
- Use the parchment to even and smooth out the roll. Wrap the parchment around the dough, and secure by twisting each end. Chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350° F while dough is chilling.
- Unwrap the dough and slice into ¼-inch-thick coins. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, until edges are golden brown.
- Let cool on the sheet pan for several minutes before placing on a baking rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this cheese crackers recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
