SAVORY COOKIES and HAM MOUSSE: the perfect finger food for your aperitif!
Marco, my husband, always tells me: when I like something I get obsessed and for a while I don’t see anything else, even at the risk of becoming maniacal! He’s right.
Now I’m hooked on mousses — they’re irresistible with their creaminess and delicate flavor; if you pair them with some fragrant savory shortbread cookies they’re the best!!!
So after the mortadella mousse I made the other day, I decided to prepare a ham mousse as well, to fill little savory cookies and create tasty, handy bites you can enjoy even standing up — perfect for an aperitif.
The base for the cookies follows my grandmother Marcella’s recipe, with a small variation, and it’s a simple savory shortcrust pastry.
The filling, instead, is a fluffy ham mousse. But fair warning: if you get hooked after you taste them, don’t blame me — they’re addictive!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking time: 12 Minutes
- Portions: about 30 filled cookies
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp 00 flour
- 7 tbsp butter
- 2 1/2 oz Parmigiano Reggiano (grated)
- 1/2 cup Pecorino (grated)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 11 oz cooked ham (in a single slice)
- 1 1/4 cups cow's milk ricotta
- 2 tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano PDO (grated)
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 pinch black pepper
- to taste salt
Preparation
First of all, prepare the cookies. Put the flour, Parmigiano, Pecorino, cold butter cut into pieces, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper on the work surface or in the bowl of a mixer. Start kneading until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous dough. It’s a simple dough that does not require resting, very similar to sweet shortcrust pastry. Once ready, lightly flour the work surface and roll the dough out with a rolling pin to a height of about 1/8 inch. Using small cookie cutters (you can choose any shape you prefer — the important thing is that they are small; think of the size of ‘baci di dama’), cut out the cookies and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Beat the egg white and brush the surface of the cookies, then bake them at 356°F (conventional oven) for 12–15 minutes (depending on your oven); they will be ready when the surface becomes slightly golden. Once baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool on a rack. Your savory cookies are ready.
While the cookies cool, prepare the mousse. Cut the slice of ham into small cubes with a knife, then place them in a food processor and chop. At this point add the ricotta, the Parmigiano, the heavy cream and a pinch of pepper into the processor and blend for another minute so that all the ingredients combine well. Regarding salt: since all the ingredients are already fairly salty, it is not always necessary to add salt; taste it and decide according to your preferences — personally I almost never add it.
To assemble your filled cookies, place about a tablespoon of mousse on one cookie and then close it like a sandwich with another cookie. Continue until all ingredients are used. Store them in the refrigerator and take them out 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
You can make the cookies in advance — they are obviously best freshly made, but once ready they keep in an airtight cookie tin stored in a cool, dry place for 1 week. The mousse, once prepared, keeps for up to two days in the refrigerator.
It’s better to fill them at the last minute so that the cookies retain their crispness.
