3-Ingredient Parmesan Cookies
These savoury parmesan cookies require minimum baking skills and 3 basic ingredients - Perfect with wine, they're sure to wow your guests!
If you’re looking for a quick and easy savoury snack, look no further – These Italian Parmesan cookies are easiest and most delicious savoury cookies you'll ever make.
They don't last longer than half an hour when my family is around.
And I'm pretty confident that once you try them, you and your family will love these as much as we do.
Just 3 basic ingredients
These crunchy, fragrant savoury biscuits give an Italian twist to the classic English shortbread recipe, and are incredibly easy to make.
They're ready in less than 1 hour, and require just 1 bowl and only 3 basic ingredients:
- all-purpose flour
- cold butter
- Parmesan cheese
For best results, I suggest opting for the best-quality Parmigiano Reggiano cheese you can put your hands on.
Same goes on the flour and butter. The better the quality, the better the cookies!
Add your favourite spices and herbs
What I love most about these savoury cheese cookies is that they're super easy to customize.
Add a pinch of red chilli pepper flakes for a nice spicy kick.
Add your favourite chopped fresh herbs for an extra aromatic note: rosemary, sage, thyme would all work well.
I’ve used a mix of rosemary and thyme, and I personally think this flavour combo works perfectly.
Easy Parmesan cheese cookies in 3 steps
I can’t stress enough how incredibly easy these cookies are to make.
Step 1. Quickly mix all the ingredients together in a stand mixer, then give it a quick knead until you form a log.
Step 2. Let the log rest half an hour in the fridge.
Step 3. Slice the dough into round cookies (you can cut each round with a cookie cutter to make them super pretty) and bake them until crunchy and golden, it should take about 10 minutes.
Baking tip: Alternatively, you might find it easier to simply knead the dough into a ball, flatten it slightly, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Then roll the dough into a 1 cm disk, cut the cookies using a cookie cutter, then proceed to bake them.
These 3-Ingredient Parmesan biscuits are crunchy, loaded with umami flavour, and totally addicting.
Trust me on this, and double up the amount of the ingredients so you can make a BIG batch!
Freezing tips
To freeze the dough, flatten it slightly into a disk, double-wrap it in cling film and store it in the freezer up to 1 month.
Whan you need a quick-fix to satisfy your cookie cravings, let the dough defrost for about 10 minutes, cut into rounds and bake the biscuits for 10 minutes.
You can also safely freeze the baked cookies.
Arrange them on a baking tray covered with parchment paper, place them in the freezer for 30 minutes, then transfer them into a freezer-friendly container. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Serve these delicious savoury treats with your favourite wine or cocktail. They're perfect for get-togethers, picnics, or for Christmas and New Year's Eve parties.
More Italian recipes to try
If you're looking for more super easy Italian recipes to try, check out my family favourites:
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thepetitecook! Looking at your pictures always makes me smile *and super hungry*!
Recipe
3-Ingredient Parmesan Cookies
Ingredients
- 100 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
- 100 g organic all-purpose flour
- 100 g Parmesan cheese , finely grated
- fresh rosemary & thyme leaves, finely minced, (optional)
- black pepper, (optional)
- 2 tablespoon warm water (or a small beaten egg)
Instructions
- In a stand mixer over medium-low speed, mix together the butter, flour and Parmesan cheese, until finely crumbly.
- Add optional fresh chopped herbs and black pepper to taste, and knead until you form a dough.
- Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into an uniform log, about 3 cm (1¼ inches) in diameter.
- Wrap the 2 cylinders into cling film, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C ( 350°F) without the fan mode. When using the fan-assisted option, set the oven to 20°C less than conventional oven.
- Cut each log into 1 cm thick rounds, then you can use a cookie cutter to give them a specific cookie form.
- Arrange the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Brush the surface of each cookie with a bit of warm water or a beaten egg, and sprinkle a tiny amount of extra grated Parmesan or chopped fresh herbs on top.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden on top.
- Remove the cookies from the oven, they will still be quite soft. Allow them to cool completely on a baking rack, then serve.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This recipe was originally published October 2014, and updated with new photos and video. No change to recipe.
These are so good, sort of a savory shortbread. Just what I need to take to a gathering Friday where there will be wine and too many sweets! Thank you, Andrea, and thanks to others with additional ideas.
Hi I make something very similar but use gruyère instead of parmesan. I make it using 200g each of butter/cheese/flour and they don't last very long at all. I do freeze them. You can freeze the raw dough so you have some to make on standby. I use a mix of dried thyme and oregano and flaky seasalt to finish... 😋
I don’t own a stand mixer as I rarely bake. Can these be made with a hand mixer? If so, any modifications? I’d love to try these and have all the ingredients. Thank you!
Hi Cheryl, I barely use my stand mixer these days and I just use my hand mixer, I made these cookies last week with my hand mixer and it was totally fine! Happy baking 🙂
Funny, I have made these but with sharp cheddar and yes the pinch of cayenne for years. My Grannys recipe. She passed down. Will like the twist of Parmesean and agree that the best grade of parm should be used. This is a warm fuzzy memory. i serve mine a s appetizers or with chili.
Hello,
I just have found your site and am now a subscriber.
Regarding your recipes that use all purpose, flour, do you ever use zero or double zero flour? I have purchased some from an Italian deli near me as I believe the flour from Europe is much better than our very processed flour here in the states.
Thank you and excited to make your recipes!
Joy ~
Hi Joy! Yes, I use mostly Italian 00 flour, then I retest the recipes with organic all purpose flour to make sure they're consistent, so you can go ahead and use your 00 flour!
I served these to customers on a charcuterie board. One of the ladies said it was the best Parmesan cookie she had ever had! Thanks for the recipe.
Has anyone made these with gluten-free flour (like King Arthur cup-for-cup)? Sometimes the texture can change…. Thanks for the input!
I made these today with Cup4Cup. They're so delicious, but quite crumbly. I made the dough in the morning and refrigerated until the afternoon. Definitely would make them again, but maybe a little more flour next time to help with the crumbliness.
No complaints though!!
I made a batch this morning and the flavor is delicious, but they turned out flat and really fell apart. It was as if I used too much butter. Any idea what I might have done wrong. I definitely plan to try again!
Hi Sandi, let me help you! I think it could be that you overbeat the cookie dough or you didn't chill the cookies for enough time. Try to mix the ingredients until just combined and let the cookies chill for at least 30 minutes (1 hour is even better) before baking them.
We love these cookies! I have a batch in right now! My granddaughter calls them "roast beef cookies" because she says they smell like roast beef! 😂
Hi, I just made the dough for these, but used room temp butter instead of cold! I hope It will work out if I chill the dough longer than 15 minutes?
I chilled the dough longer, and then re-chilled after cutting the cookies and before baking. Baked for 13 minutes. Worked just fine! IMG_0071.jpg
Just made them only tried one. They are even better than i was expecting. Will definitely be making these again. I forgot the black pepper so added this to the top. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi Andrea! I just made these for my grandmother-in-law, who doesn't like sweet cookies. They were a hit! 🙂 I'm going to make them again for sure, next time perhaps with wholemeal flour (for me, the cookies were a tiny bit too buttery... super good, but I can't eat more than two in a row :D) - but in any case, thank you for the recipe!
Love,
Naurael
These cookies are AWESOME!!!!!!!!
Only thing is it took ages to combine the butter in to make everything crumbly. Also on fan forced oven 160° wasnt high enough I had to cook for 20 -25 mins.
Someone asked about using hard cheese. I didn't see a reply. Would hard cheese work?
Hi there! I only tried these cookies with Parmesan cheese, so I'm not sure any other cheese would work just as well. But if you give it a try, please let me know how they turn out!
Hi Andrea, how many cookies does the recipe make?
Hi Tracy, depending on the size you make them you should be able to make between 8-10 cookies 🙂
There are other Parmesan biscuits suggesting 50g Parmesan and 50g cheddar. I find them equally good
I usually bake at 190c for 8 minutes.
Hi! I'm doing keto, do you think I could substitute almond flour?
Hi Sarah, unfortunately I have only tried these cookies using all purpose flour. Almond "flour" is not actually a flour, so I'm not really sure it would work, but if you give it a try, let me know how they turn out!
These look amazing! I don't have a stand mixer, is there another way for me to make these? 😀
Hi Tracy, you can also make the dough using a food processor!
I used my hands to blend them and they came out fine.
Hi, I'm on a keto diet and I wanted to know if the all purpose flour could be substituted for almond or coconut flour?
Hi Dannii, unfortunately I have only tried these cookies using all purpose flour. Almond "flour" is not actually a flour, so I'm not really sure it would work, but if you give it a try, let me know how they turn out!
Can I use cheddar cheese instead of parmesan?
Hi Shanti, I've only tried this recipe with Parmesan cheese, so I'm not sure what the outcome would be replacing it with cheddar cheese. If you give it a try, make sure the cheese is very finely grated. I look forward to hearing your feedback!
I used a blend of parmesan and cheddar and they turned out amazing!!
And EU cooks don't generally have cups or cup measurements, thank you for showing the quantities in grams 😁
Delicious, they are now a family favourite
Thank you so much Debbie, glad you liked these cookies!
Absolutely love these! I frequently make them for my family to come home to and everyone agrees that the smell and taste is absolutely incredible! Sometimes I add some cheddar or chilli powder and that’s great too!
Hi Andrea.
How much flour, butter and cheese do you need? So excited to make these.
Hi Caren!
You can find the recipe in this post 🙂 100 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
100 g organic all-purpose flour, plus extra for flouring
100 g Parmesan cheese ( Parmigiano Reggiano), grated
Looking forward to hearing how you liked them! Happy baking 🙂
Hi Andrea. I just tried this recipe for the second time and I love them! I was just wondering, do you know how many calories are in these biscuits?
Hi Andea, I just made your Parmesan Cookies and in the recipe you said to cut them up from the log form. No
mention of using a cookie cutter. Then the dough would have to be rolled out and they would look like your
picture. They taste good but look nothing like your picture if cut log style.
Hi Andrea. Do you think I can use margarine instead of butter?
Hi Andrea do you think I can use margarine instead of butter?
Hi Parisa, mmm I'm really not so sure it would work, but if you do try it, I recommend that once you form the cookies you put them in the fridge at least 15 minutes before baking them, as they tend to spread if the dough is not chilled enough and Im pretty confident they would spread even more if you use margarine. Let me know how they turn out, and if you need any other quick tips please reach me on IG or on my FB page so I can get back to you super quickly! Happy baking!! 🙂
These look delicious! I am a little confused by your notes at the bottom. Can they be stored on a counter-top in an air-tight container for a week or does the container need to be refrigerated?
Can't wait to try them!
Hi Lisa! Sorry for the confusion, yes, you need to store them in an air-tight container in the fridge. I can't wait to hear how you like them!
Really good recipe, came out well and delicious. Thank you
Could this recipe easily use another hard cheese? Just thought it would be interesting to have a few flavors.
Appreciate your recipe and your fabulous blog
Hi Andrea, how much rosemary and thyme leave used for this recipe?
Hi! I generally use 1 tsp of super finely chopped rosemary leaves and 1/2 tsp of thyme leaves, but feel free to reduce the amount for a milder flavour 🙂
I made these and made he logs smaller as wanted petite biscuits to go with drinks ? They are perfect and love them! Thank you so much for sharing a wonderful recipe x
I'm so so happy you liked them Carole!
These looks so delicious. I have them pinned for later. I have a ton of rosemary that I can put in them.
I definitely want to try making these -- love that they're a savory cookie! Beautiful presentation too. Thank you!
These biscuits look delicious!!
I actually needed a recipe like this for a party I am going to the end of this month! These will work perfectly.
wow I adore these! I made them tonight and they were crunchy, savoury and great with wine!
Sounds delish. Will be making for gathering this weekend. For those of us USA cooks, I looked it up and 3-1/2 oz is roughly 1/2 cup. One-half cup is actually 3.55 oz. Close enough since all ingredients are the same measurement.
Thank you Jo, I really hope you're gonna like them as much as me and my family do 🙂 Thanks for adding the cup measurement, I'll add them to the recipe card notes for all the US readers!
These would be so perfect for a cocktail party! I'd love them with a nice crisp glass of white!!! Can't wait to try!
These look very tasty! I love cheese based scones so I bet this is very similiar to that. I like the addition of Thyme so might have to really give these a go
I'd say they're "cousins", the unique flavour of parmesan here makes all the difference!
What did you use to get that beautiful shape?
Just a regular cookie cutter, the smallest from this set: http://amzn.eu/5VyPPQz
Hi Just wondered how many the recipe will make. In other words as a cocktail snack for 6 or 8 persons?
Thanks
David
Hi David, this recipe makes about 30-35 small cookies, depending on the size you want them to be 🙂
I wonder if you would consider using volume/cup measures? The USA cooks don't often have scales.
unless you mean oz = volume? It might be less confusing if you wrote "1/4 cup"
Considering America is the home of consumerism and baking I'm actually surprised.
However, if you use the calculator on your smartphone/device theres actually conversions for all of the above and more (including acreage and hectares if you're property shopping!) Also, google is good place to go, that does it all for you too! If you choose to make a recipe not in your measurements I think it's a bit rude to except the author, who's providing the recipe, and all previous testing of it to you for free, to have to translate it into any number of measurements!