Cheesy Hearts

Cheesy Hearts, the perfect savoury biscuits for Valentine’s Day.cheesy-hearts-3

I often approach Valentine’s Day with mixed emotions. Once upon a time, when I was a singleton, I would stay sofa-bound at home in front of the telly, à la Bridget Jones. But instead of wailing to Céline Dion on the karaoke machine, I would watch back-to-back murder mysteries, stuffing my face with all of my favourite junk foods, thinking all the while how blissful it was to be a slob without having to worry if this would be a turn-off to any potential suitor. My way of dealing with a potential future as a spinster was to eat my way through it. With a heart-shaped box of chocolate truffles.

Fast forward to today and the realisation that there is some truth to the saying that a leopard does not change its spots. That leopard is me. I still love to veg out in front of the telly with a (family-sized) bag of salt and vinegar chips, watching back-to-back DVD episodes, leaving the laundry and cleaning up to accumulate for another day (or two). What has been a blessing is that my husband doesn’t mind joining me on the sofa to watch whatever soppy TV show I happen to be engrossed in. He may feign rolled eyes at having to watch another episode of the Gilmore Girls but, secretly, I think he enjoys it. A match made in heaven, thankfully 🙂

There is no denying that celebrating Valentine’s Day as a married woman has none of the angst and anticipation as for a singleton. But one undeniable truth which I have discovered about marriage is that, if your other half was not very excited about celebrating Valentine’s Day before marrying you, don’t expect the bells and whistles to come out once you have signed the marriage deed.

So I continue to celebrate Valentine’s Day much like in my days as a singleton – alone. By that, I mean that I revel in the cheesiness and commercialism of the day and enjoy inflicting on my husband an assortment of baked goods in the requisite heart shapes, partly to give myself an excuse to make something ridiculous, and partly as a teasing gesture of affection. And if my overtly twee baking prompts any reciprocal gift, whether it be a special home-cooked meal by hubby or some bling bling, all the better 🙂

Nigella has a great recipe for Cheesy Stars in How to Eat, a fantastic savoury biscuit which has been somewhat updated as Cheesy Feet in Feast. And if you want to immerse yourself in the corny and cutesy traditions of Valentine’s Day, I think some Cheesy Hearts are the way to go.

These biscuits remind me of the savoury cheese crackers which I used to eat by the boxful back in Australia when I was studying – anyone familiar with Arnott’s Cheese Shapes will know what I mean. Of course, the homemade version does not have the same crispness, but they are nevertheless just as addictive.

Although Nigella makes these biscuits with kiddies in mind, they are also great as a tasty snack with drinks when you have guests over. And so it goes without saying that you can make these biscuits in any shape you like; just keep a careful eye on the oven as they can brown rather quickly.

The pastry itself is a breeze to make – a mere 4 ingredients with cheese being the main component. In fact, it’s so easy that with Valentine’s Day around the corner, it’s hard not to be a bit cheesy 😉

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Cheesy Hearts

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  • Author: eatlittlebird.com
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: Makes approx. 14 biscuits
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: British

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until everything comes together in a dough. The dough may look crumbly but just press everything together with your hands and shape it into a small ball.
  2. Wrap in clingfilm and leave it to rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
  4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is roughly 3 mm thick.
  5. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter (or other cookie cutter of your choice) and cut out your shapes. You can keep re-rolling the pastry and cutting out shapes until all of the pastry is used.
  6. Place the cut out shapes onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
  7. Bake for about 10 minutes until the biscuits are lightly golden. Keep an eye on the biscuits as they brown fairly quickly and can burn.
  8. Leave the biscuits to cool on a wire rack.

Kitchen Notes

OVEN TEMPERATURES All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly. CONVERSIONS To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.

Nutrition

  • Calories: 55
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Sodium: 47mg
  • Fat: 3.9g
  • Carbohydrates: 3g
  • Fiber: 0.1g
  • Protein: 2g
  • Cholesterol: 10.9mg

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24 comments

  1. Caroline 7 February 2012

    ahahahahaha! Oh I was chuckling through this post! I think this is, for me, my favourite write up! Full of your personality….I’m the same, though even less romantically inclined and more lazy. How lucky you are to have a husband who will watch the Gilmore Girls with you! I mean, two women, with non stop dialogue? That’s love. I loved that series. And i love these biscuits! Wonderful post! Happy Valentine’s LOL!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 7 February 2012

      Oh I love the Gilmore Girls! And it’s crazy funny that my hubby enjoys it too! Even if he is just trying to get out of the housework as well, it’s a nice way to spend time together 🙂

      And I have to thank YOU for pointing out these biscuits to me! I was waiting for so long to make the Cheesy Feet for some kiddie guests that I ended up making them as hearts one day, which I have repeated on several occasions now. They are so delicious! Merci, merci 🙂

      Reply
  2. Me and My Sweets 7 February 2012

    I totally agree with Caroline, what a great post! I’m still smiling! 🙂 It’s such a great way of showing love to your partner, by watching his/her favoutrite movie/tv-show:-) AND those Cheesy Hearts! OMG sooo beautiful! I envy your pics, your such a good fotographer!!!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 8 February 2012

      Oh thank you! That means a lot to me 🙂 I agree that it helps when your partner likes, or doesn’t mind, watching the same TV shows or movies. I think some guys secretly enjoy the girly shows but would never admit to it 😉

      Reply
  3. Reem | Simply Reem 7 February 2012

    Beautiful post!!!!!
    These cheesy hearts are just so adorable….
    Love it.

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 8 February 2012

      Thanks Reem! I hope hubby will find them adorable too 😉 I can already see his eyes rolling, ha ha!

      Reply
  4. Paula @ Spoons n Spades 8 February 2012

    What delicious looking biscuits! Great idea to cut them in the heart shapes, my partner would love these 🙂

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 8 February 2012

      Hi Paula! I was at a loss for what shapes to use one day and I seem to have an oversupply of various heart shapes! But whatever shape you use, these biscuits taste great 🙂

      Reply
  5. myfudo 8 February 2012

    I love the name “cheesy hearts”…come to think of it, every romantic has a cheesy heart. Great post!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 9 February 2012

      I’m glad you agree … being romantic essentially means being a bit cheesy 😉

      Reply
  6. Liz Headon 8 February 2012

    I’m not sure which TV programme would be my choice, but luckily I think I’ll be at the pub with friends that evening. Might still make some cheesy hearts though – they look very tempting.

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 8 February 2012

      An evening out at the pub sounds like a great plan 🙂 Crown Princess Mary met her prince at a pub! 😉

      Reply
  7. Mrs. Measurement 8 February 2012

    That looks amazing! And so simple to make. I’ll have to try them out on the Hubby.

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 8 February 2012

      Thank you! They are certainly really simple to make. I hope you will give these a try!

      Reply
  8. Emilia 9 February 2012

    haha cheesy hearts, love it! these biscuits do look quite good, in fact they remind me of a cheese biscuit my mother used to make. I’ll definitely have to try them soon, perfect for valentines day! 🙂

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 14 February 2012

      Hi Emilia! Please let me know if you do try this recipe, and also if they are similar to your mother’s. I think it’s a fantastically simple recipe.

      Reply
  9. Sam-I-am 13 February 2012

    Creme, you are a class act! You give the cheesiest of celebrations a touch of class! Forget the colour red and the heart shaped jellies, yours is the most subtle and refined ‘rapelle’ that indeed this is Feb 14th and that you love him. Lucky guy!

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 14 February 2012

      Aww Sam, thank you!! I hope he feels that way but, in truth, I think I’m the lucky one 🙂

      Reply
  10. Jo 16 February 2012

    Hehehe, oh I did chuckle reading this post Thanh – I could practically see your cheeky lil grin! Did the cheesy hearts (and custard hearts!) prompt one of those special home cooked meals or bling then? ;). My Hungry Hubby loves a bit of cheesy tv, perhaps more so than me (have I ever told you how he was addicted to Smallville? *shakes head in dismay*) and yes, thank god some couch surfing with your beloved has replaced the agony of V Day as a single teenager! Gosh, I’ve got palpitations remembering my single days – gasp!….

    Reply
    • eat, little bird 16 February 2012

      Oi he was aware Valentine’s Day was around the corner but had nothing up his sleeve 🙁 But then our neighbours actually organised a dinner with all of the tenants on Valentine’s Day at the last minute, which hubby gratefully accepted. It seems the Swiss do not celebrate Valentine’s Day! But he was really happy to see the custard cream hearts and has nearly finished the whole batch on his own, so at least someone got to benefit 🙂

      Reply
  11. Jessica L. 17 February 2012

    These sounds great! I love that they are savory and anything with cheese is instantly better! Yum.

    Reply
  12. Julia 12 April 2018

    Wow, this looks so delicious! I am definitely making this! looks delish!






    Reply
  13. Suzanne 8 February 2023

    Can I make these ahead and/or freeze them?

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 9 February 2023

      Hi Suzanne,
      Yes, you could definitely make the dough ahead of time and freeze it. I would recommend that you freeze the dough in a flat disc (wrapped in plastic wrap) so that it will be quicker to defrost and roll out when you need it. I hope you will enjoy this recipe!

      Reply