Cheddar spring onion oat biscuits: a deeply savoury and very moreish snack

Anything with cheese in it has me sold. I used to adore the ritual of cheese and crackers before bedtime, my perfect late-night snack. Even though I was told that cheese before bed would give me nightmares, I couldn’t resist. My mum always cut huge slabs of cheddar and served them on Jacob’s Cream Crackers. With a big mug of tea it was the stuff of my dreams, not nightmares.

Cheese on crackers, cheese in crackers, cheese with any sort of crunchy-textured vessel to harmonise the salty creaminess of the cheese really is the perfect marriage. Cheese and crackers are still one of my favourite snacks, and I always seem to have a few batches of various biscuits and crackers in my freezer.

This week’s recipe sees a classic cheese biscuit revamped, with the addition of the fresh and vibrant flavour of spring onion. The sweet and subtle notes from the spring onion work well with cheese, and I like to use cheddar here. Really though, you can mix and match cheeses for different variations.

I vary this recipe with a mix of herbs sometimes too. Chives work particularly well, as do rosemary and thyme. As long as your base recipe is correct, there are countless combinations to try. Once the three-corned leek and wild garlic start popping up in damp woodland come late spring, whip this recipe out again and try it with those in place of the spring onion.

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These little cracker biscuits are deeply savoury and very moreish. I like to add a small amount of finely grated Parmesan in addition to the cheddar to really amp up the cheesy flavour. They are delicious nibbled on alone or topped with even more cheese. My favourite topping combination is any sharp or mature cheddar and a quick pink pickled onion on top. Cheese and onion is savoury, sharp and a little sour – you really can’t go wrong.

Oats are crucial for that essential crumbliness. They are reminiscent of old-fashioned Scottish oatcakes; dry, coarse and a canvas for delicious flavour. The dough is easy as pie: mix everything together, roll it out, cut out your biscuits and bake.

This recipe will make about 20 biscuits, perfect for snacking, with soups or in lunchboxes. If you don’t have a cookie or scone cutter, use a drinking glass with the rim pressed into a little flour to stop the glass sticking to the dough.

These biscuits keep well for a few days in an airtight container, but they do start to lose their crunch and will start to soften slightly after that. Freeze any you don’t need.

Recipe: Cheddar spring onion oat biscuits