Spicy Pizza Cocktail Cookies

These are spicy, savory cookies that are perfect little bites for a cocktail soirée!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate sandwich cookies, feta, feta cheese, pizza, rosemary, savory, savory cookie, shortbread, tomato paste

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Chilling Time 1

Servings cookies

Calories 71kcal

Author Natalie Wiser-Orozco

Equipment

1½ Inch Biscuit Cutter
2 Baking Sheets
Silpat or Parchment Paper
Star Piping Tip + Bag
Large Food Processor
Small Food Processor

Ingredients

For The Cookies

3 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Fresh Rosemary Finely Chopped
2 Cups Flour
⅓ Cup Violife Vegan Parmesan Cheese Coarsely Grated
3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
2 Sticks Earth Balance Vegan Butter

For The Whipped Feta

1 Package Violife Feta Cheese
4 Teaspoons Almond Milk

Instructions

For The Cookies

Cut the butter into small cubes and return to the refrigerator until ready to use.
Put the sugar and rosemary into a small bowl together, and rub with fingers to release the oils of the rosemary. Don't worry if the sugar turns a lovely shade of green!
To a large food processor, add all the cookie ingredients except the butter and tomato paste. Pulse a few times to combine. Add in the chunks of butter along with the tomato paste, and do 2 long pulses until large curds form. Make sure the tomato paste is evenly distributed and pulse again if necessary. You're looking for large curds, and even distribution of tomato paste, but don't work the dough more than you have to.
On a clean surface, gather the dough into a ball, and cut in half. Lay out one sheet of parchment paper, press one half into a disk, and cover with another piece of parchment paper. Roll out to 1/4" thickness, and place on a cookie sheet, leaving it encased in the sheets of parchment. Do the same with the other half of dough, and stack it on the first rolled out dough. Place in the freezer for an hour.
When the hour is up, preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silpat. Using a 1½" diameter biscuit cutter, cut as many rounds as you can, spacing them evenly on the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. I got 20 cookies on a baker's half sheet. Save the scraps.
Bake for 15 minutes, turning the pan at the midway mark. Remove from oven, and let cool on the pan for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Repeat with the remaining disk. Take the scraps from both disks and combine them, repeating the roll-out between parchment paper. Freeze the rolled out disk while the other cookies bake, and then cut and bake like the others, making sure that you use a completely cool baking sheet to bake the third and final batch.

For The Whipped Feta

While the cookies are baking, prepare the whipped feta. I use Violife Feta Vegan Cheese for this recipe, so any other vegan feta may not work, nor have the desired flavor profile for these cookies.
Remove the cheese from the packaging, while reserving the liquid in the package. Cut the cheese into small chunks and add to a small food processor, along with the liquid in the package, and the 4 teaspoons almond milk. Pulse in long pulses until the mixture is very smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary.
Place mixture in a piping bag fitted with a star attachment, and carefully pipe stars on the tops of the cookie. Top with more fresh rosemary, and if your guests love spice, add more chili flakes. Serve immediately!

Notes

You can make these cookies a day before hand, and store them in an air-tight container without the whipped feta.

You can also make the whipped feta a day beforehand as well, storing in a separate air-tight container, covered in the refrigerator. Remove the feta 30 minutes before working with it. Using a spatula, mix again, making sure that the mixture is pliable, and free of clumps after being in the refrigerator. From here, add to the piping bag, and decorate the cookies as stated in the recipe.

Nutrition