Cheese Cookies Vintage Recipe Card

Today’s handwritten recipe card features cheese and butter, two of my favorite things. Although called cheese cookies, the vintage recipe is essentially a savory shortbread flavored with cheese and is given a kick with a bit of red pepper.

Now, I’ve made cream cheese cookies before and have heard of ricotta cheese cookies, but this recipe is for an unsweetened cookie. I’m curious how the texture of these will turn out as there is a quite a bit of butter and cheese when compared to the flour.
I can imagine these savory cookies make for a good snack but will also work well as an appetizer if smeared with a red pepper jelly or jalapeno raspberry jam. My tastebuds are already tingling.
And to maximize the flavor in the cheese cookies, I’d recommend using a sharp cheddar cheese. The recipe doesn’t really specify but a sharp cheddar would given that little extra ‘twang’ that I think would be good with such a rich shortbread.
Cheese Cookies Vintage Recipe
aka: Savory Cheese Shortbread
1 stick softened margarine
2 cups grated cheese
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon red pepper (cayenne)
3/4 cup chopped nuts
Mix cheese and margarine together, then add flour, pepper, nuts. When combined, roll the cheese cookie dough into balls. Using a floured fork, press down on the balls to flatten (similar to making a peanut butter cookie).
Bake at 325F for 15-20 minutes.
Notes: You can add a bit more flour if the dough is too soft. The recipe card author also notes in the lower corner that the cookies are ‘greasy’. With that much butter and cheese, I’m not surprised!
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