White Cheddar & Rosemary Savory Shortbread Squares

This is a play on the Southern favorite:  Cheese Straws.  Using white cheddar instead of yellow and adding rosemary are my changes.  Instead of using a pastry bag and piping out straws, this recipe can either be rolled out and cut into whatever shapes you want or rolled into a log and sliced into circles or squares and baked.

However, you choose to form/cut/slice them, these are a delicious snack.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
pinch of ground white pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
8 oz. extra-sharp white Cheddar, finely shredded (I used a microplane)
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 T. finely minced fresh rosemary

Combine butter with salt and peppers in mixer on low until combined.  Don't over-mix.

Add flour, cheese and rosemary and mix on medium-low until well combined and a ball forms.  Again, don't over-mix.

Wrap ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.   If you want to use the slice and bake method (so you don't have to roll out your dough), shape dough into a log before refrigerating.

Heat oven to 325° convection (350° conventional).   Line two sheet pans with silpats or parchment paper.

Roll out dough to 1/4" thick on a lightly floured surface, or slice rounds from log that are 1/4" thick. If you roll out the dough, use 2" round cutter and place each biscuit on sheet pan as you cut them out. Biscuits hold shape well when baked, so you can use any cookie cutter you like here.   You can re-roll dough scraps.

Bake until puffed up, golden on top, and browning on edges, about 18 - 20 minutes. Store at room temp in a ziploc or airtight container.

Based on a recipe from Epicurious