Cheddar Shortbreads (Slice-and-Bake)

with cranberries, walnuts, and/or pecans — if you want

It’s been very dark and dreary and rainy in NYC for like the last month (week, I’m being dramatic). And I think we’re all starting feel like the Angelenos who experience *one* cloudy day and immediately spiral into despair. I can’t really film videos or take photos because I really only like using natural light now (okay, privilege). I did capture the pics above this week and I’m mad that the lighting conditions weren’t better. But I’m trying to just put the stuff out and move on because I’m trying to get over my perfectionist streak. I don’t want to wait for the weather to get better to put out a recipe, and I don’t want to make you lovely folks wait, either!

I grew up loving the winter: My birthday is in the winter, Christmas comes in winter (in the northern hemiiiii). Snow presented endless fun for me. I didn’t have to take my shirt off at a public pool like I did in the summer *laughs nervously*. All good stuff! But now? Summer is my mistress.

First of all, depression? What depression? Secondly, the days are literally longer so I feel like I have more time to work and play — and I do have more time to complete my work like filming and taking photos. As someone who has fought tooth and nail to develop a habit of running outside, I can do that without braving below-freezing temps or slipping on the ice. As an ambivert (this isn’t the actual definition but I like to be around other people but I don’t really enjoy *meeting new people*) I’m relieved that other people have defrosted and actually want to do stuff, which, at least in my circles, no one does in the winter. I hate sweating — and I sweat a lot. But it’s worth it, baby! It also means my skin doesn’t dry out. LIKE IT DOES IN THE WINTER. And it doesn’t even really snow anymore in NYC so what’s the goddamn point? I know because I said that a giant blizzard is going to dump on New York just to spite me.

EGO Recommends

TV 📺: Murder at the End of the World
I don’t choose favorites usually, but my favorite movie is the murder-mystery comedy Clue (1985). That makes me a sucker for almost any murder mystery, which is why I started watching the fourth season of True Detective (excellent so far) while also eating up all seven episodes of Murder at the End of the World on Hulu within like a few days. In the latter, an amateur detective named Darby (played by a frenetic, totally engaging Emma Corrins) pens a book about her journey solving a string of serial murders with her then-boyfriend Bill (broody, HOT Harris Dickinson). Her book attracts the interest of an Elon Musk-type billionaire, who invites her to a mysterious summit for influential world figures at a desolate Iceland hotel where, surprise, her ex is also in attendance. And then there’s a murder, and a storm traps all the remaining guests in the hotel. The show managed to keep me guessing until the last episode, and while the ending is fairly clunky, the narrative shines when it flips between flashbacks of Darby’s tumultuous road trip investigation and gorgeous love story with Bill, and her newest mission, to solve this murder while also staying alive.

Newsletter 💻: Embedded
This is one of my favorite non-food newsletters. Written by Kate Lindsay and edited by Nick Catucci, Embedded shares some of the freshest, common sense takes on internet culture, the media industry, and the social media creator world. I especially loved this post about the grim present of digital news media, which is ever more relevant in light of recent layoffs and strikes. As someone who started their career in entertainment news, it sometimes feels like I got the last lifeboat on the Titanic. I was never laid off, but if I had stayed in the game, I almost surely would have been at least once. But it also makes me very sad and angry that the industry was blown up from the inside by moronic/greedy leaders, social media platforms and advertising companies.

Updates

I posted two new recipes in partnership with Breakstone’s cottage cheese — and I've linked them below. The recipes are in the caption! (They pay me to post them on Instagram, not here. I’m just letting you know that they’re there and, of course, the recipes are bangin’.)

author

Eric King on Instagram: “What’s stopping you from putting cottage cheese in… everything? Okay, maybe not everything — but in this Spinach Artichoke Dip Galette, it works wonders! I reworked one of my fave recipes using @breakstones Cottage Cheese (#ad) and wow, I’ve been sleeping on the versatility of this snack (which, by the way, has great protein if you’re looking for that). What other ways do you like to use cottage cheese? #Breakstones RECIPE -10 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into half-inch cubes (141 grams)
-1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (173 grams)
-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
-1/4 cup ice-cold water (56 grams)
-1 egg beaten (for egg wash)
-5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
-1 can artichoke hearts drained (halved or quartered)
-6 ounces Breakstone’s Cottage Cheese - Large Curd (2 or 4%)
-1 clove garlic
-1 shallot
-1 heaping teaspoon dijon mustard
-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
-1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
-1/2 cup grated parmesan (2.5 ounces)
-6 ounces low-moisture mozzarella, grated In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt together.
Add in the butter, then pulse several times until the butter pieces are a bit larger than peas. Drizzle the water evenly over the mixture in three additions, pulsing in between each, just until the dough starts clumping together. Dump the dough out onto a floured work surface and press it into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour or up to one day. Squeeze out most of the moisture in the thawed spinach. Finely grate half of the shallot and half of the garlic clove into a medium mixing bowl. Mix in the artichokes, spinach, Breakstone’s Cottage Cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and dijon mustard. Preheat oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the crust into 15-16 inch circle. Transfer to a half-sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Spread out the filling evenly onto the surface of the dough, leaving a 1.5 to 2-inch border. In sections, fold the uncovered dough over the filling to create a crust.
Brush the egg wash on the crust and sprinkle with more parmesan, if desired.”

February 1, 2024

author

Eric King on Instagram: “Whipped cottage cheese… it’s your time to shine. This appetizer/snack is as easy as pressing the button on a blender, making toast, and cutting fruit, I SWEAR. Of course cottage cheese and fruit go together, so I whipped up some @breakstones Cottage Cheese (#ad) with feta, lemon zest and juice, garlic and some other stuff which made the most creamy, cloud-like spread that I’m putting on absolutely anything I see in the kitchen lately. And these are totally customizable. They work with pears, persimmons, apples, cantaloupe (again, in the summer) anything that can stand up to a creamy, garlic-y-ish, spread. #Breakstones RECIPE Makes about 10 toasts 6 ounces Breakstone’s 4% Large Curd Cottage Cheese (about 3/4 cup)
4 ounces feta cheese
Zest of half a lemon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper pepper
1 clove garlic
Half a baguette, cut into about 10 half-inch slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
Honey or hot honey (for garnish)
3 or 4 slices prosciutto (optional)
Chopped pistachios (optional)
One Bartlett pear, thinly sliced
One fuyu persimmon, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 350°F To the bowl of a food processor with the blade attachment, add the cottage cheese, feta, lemon zest and juice, honey and pepper. Finely grate half of the garlic clove into the mixture and reserve the other half. Pulse a few times until the mixture breaks down, then increase speed to high. You will have to scrape down the bowl a few times. Continue processing on high until the mixture is creamy and is almost totally smooth but still has some visible graininess. Fill a piping bag (or a zipper bag with the end snipped off) with the mixture and set in the refrigerator until ready to assemble. Arrange the the baguette slices on a half sheet tray and drizzle the olive oil all over them. Gently rub each slice with the other half of the garlic clove. Toast in the oven for about 7 or 8 minutes or until the toasts are golden brown on the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. [recipe continued in pinned comment]”

February 1, 2024

This Week’s Recipe

These would have been perfect for holiday cookie box season — SORRY. But inspiration strikes when it strikes and I just couldn’t get them out of my head, so you’re getting them now. These would look right at home on any charcuterie board or as a last minute offering for a lunch or dinner party. Think of it as the only homemade thing you need to make to impress your guests and then rely on store-bought dips, etc. (They’re perfect alone, but you could even serve them with … scallion cream cheese with everything seasoning or pepper jelly?)

These are slice-and-bake shortbreads. The picture above shows about half of the rounds the recipe makes, which is about 18-19. You could always tightly wrap the other half of the dough log and freeze it to bake later (baking from frozen is fine)!

Some of these above have little “belly buttons” because I didn’t squish together the cylinder of dough enough. They become less noticeable after baking.

Here are two tips if you want more circular shortbreads: put the dough log in a cardboard paper towel roll before putting it in the fridge so it doesn’t slump and form a flat side. Or, if you’re using parchment, form the log on the parchment, pick up the top part of the parchment and bring it towards you, laying it over the log so the top end meets the bottom. Then take a bench scraper and press the top of the parchment into the crease under the log to form an extra-tight wrap.

Including dried cranberries means a slight difference in baking timing and temps because the cranberries can get a little dark. The nuts don’t make much of a difference and toast up beautifully either way. I give additional directions for using the cranberries, but overall, just include what you like.

These shortbreads are great on their own but I felt inspired to serve them with about half a block of softened cream cheese (4 ounces) covered in warm pepper jelly.

These shortbreads have a lot of cheddar in them so I don’t want to hear anyone say they can’t taste the cheese. Really go for quality cheese to get the best flavor! They also contain cayenne and paprika for just a little intrigue, color, and a very, very, very subtle hint of spice. Turmeric is added because I like the earthiness combined with the cheese flavor, but just as importantly, they amp up the orange color. You eat with your eyes!

Serving suggestions:

For plain cheddar shortbreads: Allow half a block of cream cheese (4 ounces) to soften at room temperature. Microwave a few tablespoons of pepper jelly and spoon over the cream cheese to cover.

For cranberry/nut cheddar shortbreads: I loved serving these with some jam (fig, strawberry or raspberry would be good) and some salty charcuterie meat like genoa salami or prosciutto.

Cheddar Shortbreads

Makes around 36-38 shortbread rounds