cheddar cheese shortbread mooncake cookies
As a huge fan of grocery store snacks and Cheez Its, me creating this recipe and bake is no surprise. The only surprise might be why it didn’t come any sooner!
Is this cookie like eating a Cheez It? Kind of but not really! I would say that this is slightly sweeter. It’s definitely closer to being a sweet cookie than a savory biscuit type of bite. Describing this is actually quite difficult; I think you should just make it to see and taste for yourself. It’s such a fun and easy bake — it’ll be worth the baking play time, I promise.
Unlock a new ingredient
This recipe is quite simple with ingredients you should have in the pantry already. The only special ingredient would be the cheddar cheese powder. In developing this recipe, I found that using the cheddar cheese powder was the best way to incorporate this cheese flavor without changing the texture and consistency of the shortbread cookie too much. The tub of cheese powder is quite big so you’ll get a lot of uses from it! In my household, I use this cheese powder on many other types of baked goods (donut filling, cake layers, buttercream, pastry creams, etc) and savory applications (popcorn topping, etc). The shelf life is also quite long so it’ll be there when you need and want it. If I had to sit here and daydream other uses for this cheddar cheese powder I would say:
cheddar cheese focaccia
sweet cheddar cheese donuts
cheddar cheese & peanut butter ice cream sandwiches (working on this recipe!)
spicy cheddar cheese biscuits
cheddar cheese cheesecake
The list is endless! It’s such a fun and unique ingredient that it would be almost like a pandora’s box item to have in the pantry.
Play around with this recipe
This recipe can also be easily modified! There are multiple ways to play with this recipe to truly make it your own. If you do any of these, please DM me and send me pictures because I want to see and live vicariously through you!
Add actual shredded cheddar cheese pieces in the dough
Add some herbs for a more savory mix
Swap out the cheddar cheese powder for peanut butter powder
Swap out the cheddar cheese powder for ranch seasoning powder
Sub the butter with vegan butter and nutritional yeast to make a vegan version
But that’s really it! Have fun with the recipe below. I secretly want you to make a million of these and gift them out to everyone you know. Cheddar cheese shortbread mooncake army, here we come!
Thanks for being here and playing around with me,
Elisa
cheddar cheese shortbread mooncake cookies
Ingredients
- 113g butter, room temp
- 120g sugar
- 200g AP flour
- 20g cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 tsp cheddar cheese powder
- drops of orange food coloring, optional
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the softened room temp butter and sugar. Cream for 2-3 minutes on medium until it doubles in volume and sugar granules dissolve.
- Add AP flour, cornstarch, salt, and cheddar cheese powder. Mix for a few minutes until cookie dough comes together. Optional: add a few drops of orange food coloring to achieve desired color. Once the cookie dough has come together, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to chill the dough.
- When ready to shape the mooncake cookies, remove the bowl from the fridge. Weigh out 20-30g for each cookie depending on your cookie size preference (for these, I personally preferred thinner cookies so I did 25g each). Roll each portioned cookie dough into tight balls. Use your mooncake mold to stamp each dough ball. Press firmly to make sure you capture the intricate details. Transfer each stamped cookie to a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Leave at least 1.5 inches spacing between each cookie.
- Once you have stamped all of the cookies, transfer the sheet into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour. Chilling the dough again will help the cookies keep their shape during the bake.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the cookies for 4 minutes. Drop the temperature to 325 degrees and finish baking for another 6-8 minutes (depending on your oven, it might cook more quickly). Enjoy!
