3-Ingredient Parmesan Cookies

These crunchy Italian parmesan cookies require minimum baking skills and 3 basic ingredients – Perfect to wow a crowd at your next party!

If you’re looking for a quick and easy savoury snack, look no further – These Parmesan cookies are totally addicting.

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. I choose them organic whenever possible.

Add spices and herbs to your cookies

What I love most about these Italian savoury 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 cookies in 3 steps

I can’t stress enough how incredibly easy these cheese cookies are to make.

1. All you have to do is quickly mix all the ingredients together in a stand mixer, then give it a quick knead until you form a log.
2. Let it rest half an hour in the fridge.
3. Then 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.

These 3-Ingredient Parmesan cookies 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.

They also freeze beautifully!

Simply make some extra dough, 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, simply slice the dough into rounds and bake the cookies for 10 minutes. 

These 3-Ingredient Parmesan Cookies are the perfect savoury bite to snack on.

Serve at get-togethers, picnics and parties, Christmas dinner or New Year’s eve party. I promise they’ll disappear in seconds.

More Italian recipes to try

If you’re looking for more super easy Italian recipes to try, check out my Italian Pizza Dough

& Italian Tomato Sauce, or try this Italian Calamarata Pasta (one of the most popular recipes on the blog!).

Print Recipe

4.8 from 5 votes

3-Ingredient Parmesan Cookies

These crunchy Italian parmesan cookies require minimum baking skills and 3 basic ingredients - Perfect to wow a crowd at your next party!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Resting time30 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Savoury snack

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: cookies, holiday, parmesan, parmesan cookies, party, quick

Servings: 10

Author: The Petite Cook

Ingredients

• 100 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks (3½ oz)
• 100 g organic all-purpose flour, plus extra for flouring (3½ oz)
• 100 g Parmesan cheese (I use Parmigiano Reggiano), grated (3½ oz)
• fresh rosemary & thyme leaves, finely minced (optional)
• black pepper (optional)
• 1 small egg, beaten (or 1/8 cup o warm water) (optional)

Instructions

• In a stand mixer over medium-low speed, mix together the butter, flour and Parmesan, until finely crumbly.
• Add optional fresh chopped herbs and black pepper to taste, and knead until you form a dough.
• Divide the dough in two, and roll each part into an uniform log, about 3 cm / 1¼ inches in diameter.
• Wrap the 2 cylinders into cling film, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C ( 350°F), meanwhile cut each log into 1cm thick rounds.
• Arrange the cookies on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
• Brush the surface of each cookie with a bit of warm water or a beaten egg, and sprinkle over a little finely grated Parmesan. 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 to cool completely on a baking rack, and once dry they will have a crunchy texture. 
• Store leftovers in an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Notes

*100gr is roughly 1/2 US cup, so you can simply use 1/2 cup of each ingredient (but best double up, these cookies disappear quickly!)

* Slice the log into rounds, then use a cookie cutter to cut the cookies in your favorite shape before baking.

* You can also knead the dough into a ball, flatten a little bit, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Then roll the dough into a 1 cm disk and cut the cookies using a cookie cutter.
*Cookies can be made and stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week or lined on a baking tray and frozen individually.
*Unbaked dough can also be wrapped airtight and then frozen, then defrost for 10 minutes at room temperature, then sliced with a sharp knife.

Did you try this recipe? Tag @thepetitecook or use the hashtag #thepetitecook - Looking at your pictures makes my day!

This recipe was originally published October 2014, and updated with new photos and video. No change to recipe.