Savoury biscuits with black olives

Appetizer, Appetizers & Snacks, Snack

These traditional French savoury biscuits, crispy and buttery, combine aromatic Parmesan cheese with the briny bite of black olives. They capture the essence of Provençal flavors in a simple dough. Perfect as an appetizer, apéritif snack or with a glass of wine!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 32 minutes mins

Servings 30 biscuits

Ingredients 

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• 200 gr plain flour
• 100 gr unsalted butter cold and diced
• 100 gr Parmesan cheese
• 80 gr black olives pitted and roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp whole milk
• black pepper to taste

Equipment

1 mixing bowl

1 chopping board

1 knife

1 rolling pin

1 round cutter round, approx. 4 cm diameter

1 baking tray

baking mat

1 cooling rack

Instructions

1. Prepare the Dough

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and grated Parmesan cheese.

2. Incorporate the Butter

• Add the cold, cubed unsalted butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

3. Add Olives and Seasoning

• Stir in the roughly chopped black olives and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper.

4. Bind the Dough

• Add the egg yolks and milk, mixing gently with a fork or your hands until the dough forms a smooth ball. Avoid overworking.

5. Chill the Dough

• Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm up.

6. Preheat the Oven

• Set the oven to 200°C (fan/gas mark 6).

7. Roll and Cut

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to approximately 0.5 cm thickness. Use a round biscuit cutter (about 4 cm diameter) to cut out the biscuits.

9. Bake

• Place the cut biscuits spaced evenly on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are golden and the biscuits are crisp.

9. Cool

• Remove the biscuits from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Notes

• The butter must be cold to create the ideal crumbly texture.
• Roughly chopping olives gives pleasant bursts of flavor in each bite.
• Adjust black pepper and olives to taste for more intensity.
• These biscuits freeze well, so you can have a stash of them ready for impromptu gatherings or a cheeky snack anytime you fancy!

About this recipe

These savoury biscuits started life as a classic French sablé, the short, buttery biscuit that appears on French tables at apéro time. The word “sablé” means sandy in French, which describes the texture exactly: crumbly, rich, and slightly gritty from the butter content. This version takes that foundation and adds briny black olives and sharp Parmesan, turning a simple biscuit into something worth making a batch of and keeping in the freezer at all times.

The French sablé tradition

Shortbread traces back to medieval kitchens, where leftover bread dough was twice-baked to create a hard biscuit. Over time, butter replaced yeast, and the result was the rich, crumbly biscuit known across Europe. French bakers refined this into the sablé, adjusting the butter ratio and the technique until they had something with that distinctive short, sandy texture that holds together just long enough to reach your mouth.

The French have been making savoury crackers and biscuits in this style for centuries, particularly for the apéritif, the pre-dinner ritual of drinks and small bites that is taken seriously across the country. Cheese savoury biscuits, herb biscuits, olive biscuits: they all exist on the apéro table and they all start from the same sablé principle.

Why black olives work here

Black olives have been part of French cooking since the 4th century BC, when Greek settlers brought the tanche olive variety to the Provence region. That variety is still grown there today and still forms the basis of Niçoise olives and the tapenade that appears on every Provençal table. The flavour is mellow and salty without the sharp bitterness that some olives carry, which makes them ideal for baking into savory cheese biscuits where the olive needs to complement rather than dominate.

Paired with aged Parmesan, the combination is straightforward and effective. The cheese adds a nutty, savoury depth that the olive alone can’t provide, and the salt from both ingredients means the biscuit needs very little additional seasoning. These are savory biscuits that season themselves.

Getting the cut right

The texture of the finished savoury crackers depends on consistent thickness. Too thick and they don’t crisp through properly. Too thin and they overbrown before the centre sets. Aim for around 4-5mm for the best result.

A good cutter makes the process faster and gives you cleaner edges. I use the De Buyer round cutter set for these biscuits. The sharp edges cut through the dough cleanly without dragging or distorting the shape, and having multiple sizes in the set means you can choose the right diameter for the occasion, smaller for apéro bites, larger for a cheese board accompaniment.

Making them ahead

These cheese savoury biscuits freeze well, which is one of their best qualities. Make a double batch, bake them, cool completely, and freeze in a sealed container. They reheat in a low oven in about 8 minutes and come out as good as fresh. For anyone who entertains regularly, having a supply of these in the freezer means a proper apéro spread is always 10 minutes away.

The unbaked dough also freezes well. Roll it into a log, wrap tightly, and freeze. Slice from frozen and bake directly, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time. Useful when you want truly fresh biscuits without making the dough from scratch.

Serving them

Serve warm if possible, which is when the Parmesan flavour is at its strongest and the texture at its best. At room temperature they’re still very good. They work alongside drinks at apéro time, on a cheese board, or as a snack on their own. They keep well in an airtight container for four to five days, though in practice they rarely last that long.