Cheddar, cayenne & rosemary shortbread

Add the flour and cayenne to a food processor with a few grinds of black pepper, then pulse to blend. Tip in the butter and cheese and blend until a dough comes together. It will look like breadcrumbs at first, but continue to pulse and it will quickly and magically form a smooth dough. Once you reach that point, stop. Do not overwork it.

Tip the dough onto your work surface and form into an evenly shaped sausage, about 4cm thick. Wrap in greaseproof paper (or reusable wax wrap) and chill for at least 1 hour until firm, or overnight.

To bake the biscuits, preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Slice the dough into 0.5cm discs and place at least 3cm apart on the tray. Sprinkle each biscuit with sea salt and a tiny pinch of rosemary, then gently press into the dough. Bake for 10-12 minutes. They should be just lightly golden on the edges.

Let the biscuits cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before carefully moving to a wire rack to cool completely.