Jane's Cheese and Chilli Biscuits

These are the quickest most delicious savoury biscuits ever - they can be ready in less than 30 minutes including 8 minutes or so in the oven.. Try them with a chilled glass of dry wine - perfect. Whats more, they are ideal for a Valentine's Day treat, although heart shaped they can take a couple of minutes longer to make.

The recipe comes from a friend's mother in law, who has been baking them for friends and family in South Africa for decades - so a big thank you to Jane and Elaine for allowing me to share them.

Ingredients - makes approximately 20 biscuits

40g chilli flavoured crisps

25g butter

30g self raising flour

50g strong cheddar, grated

0.5 tsp dry mustard powder

0.5 tsp poppy seeds

Pinch cayenne

Food processor

Heart shaped cookie cutter (optional)

Method

Crush the chilli crisps in a food processor until they are tiny pieces.

Add the flour and butter (the butter shouldn't be too soft) and process briefly.

Add the cheese and seasoning and pulse until mixed.

Tip the dough out onto a large piece of cling film and knead it briefly until it comes together in a ball.

Cover with another sheet of cling film and roll the dough out to a thickness of approximately 0.5cm.

Take off the top sheet of cling film and using a heart-shaped cutter to press out the biscuits or simply make small balls of dough and press flat. Put them on a baking sheet and chill while the oven heats to 180°c.

Cook the biscuits until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Cool on a rack and then store in an airtight container. They keep really well for several days.