Gruyere Cheese Twists

Basic croissant dough can be used to make Danish pastries but another and perhaps for me preferred use of the dough is in making something savoury, cheese twists made with gruyere cheese and mustard are a perfect if dangerous (it can be difficult to stop eating them)thing to make. I find cutting a slit in the oblong of rolled out dough and folding the dough in on itself, creates the perfect twist and avoids the finished article untwisting during the baking process.

For this recipe you will need.
1 quantity of basic croissant dough Click here for the recipe
200g of gruyere cheese, grated
1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon of double cream or creme fraiche
1 teaspoon of marigold bouillon powder or 1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Begin by making the croissant dough, at the point where the dough has been folded and rolled out three times, roll out a final time to a rectangle  20mm by 40mm  Mix together the mustard, cream or creme fraiche and seasoning, spread the bottom half with this mix and sprinkle on the grated cheese. Fold the top half of the dough back over the bottom half to completely cover and gently roll out to a rectangle of 20mm by roughly 75mm, pressing gently to create a good bond. Cut this new rectangle up into 25 pieces and cut a slice in the middle of each piece in order to twist through both ends. I find 3 twists is sufficient and manageable. Leave to rise either in a cool place overnight as I do or in a warm place until doubled in size, around 2 hours. bake in a hot oven 200C for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Notes:
This basic recipe can be altered by using different cheeses, using pesto in place of the cream and mustard mix, you can even consider making sweet versions using a mixture of creme fraiche, sugar and cinnamon. If you're making sweet versions keep an eye on the timing, sweet things burn at high temperatures very quickly. 
I trim off the edges of the rectangle before I begin dividing up the dough into 25 pieces, these trimmings can be twisted into little shapes and cooked along with the twists, cook's perk!