Cheese Cookies "Fried Egg in a Hole"

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups flour + extra for dusting
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 165g butter, cut into small pieces and frozen
• 120 g Pepper Jack cheese, grated
• 1 small bunch chives, thinly sliced
• 1 cup of sour milk + extra for greasing
• 6 round slices of Black Forest ham
• 6 large eggs
• Special equipment: round cookie cutter with a diameter of 5 cm.

Preparation:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and 1.5 teaspoons each of salt and pepper. Add the butter and pulse until the butter forms pea-sized chunks. Add the cheese and onion and pulse until combined. Add the sour milk and pulse several times until the dough comes together but remains fluffy.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and carefully form it into a ball. Using your hands, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Generously spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
4. Using a baking sheet as a work surface, press each piece of dough onto it, flattening it into a circle 9 cm in diameter and 2 cm thick. Arrange 3 dough circles along the top long edge of the baking sheet, evenly spaced from each other and 1 cm from the edge. Arrange the remaining 3 dough circles in the same manner along the bottom long edge of the baking sheet. Using a 5 cm cookie cutter, cut out the center of each circle. Space the cut-out centers evenly in the center of the baking sheet.
5. Brush the entire surface of the dough with sour milk and bake until the cookies are golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Transfer them to a plate.
6. Place a slice of ham on each of the large circles. Press the ham into the hole to form a bowl. Crack 1 egg into each hole in the ham. It's okay if you spill a little egg white. Season the eggs with salt and pepper. Bake, rotating the pan after 5 minutes, until the whites are set but the yolks still jiggle when gently shaken, another 8-12 minutes.
7. Using a spatula, distribute the egg-covered cookies onto plates and place small cookies nearby for dipping into the egg.