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Savory Double Cheese Slice-and-Bake Cookies

I keep a batch of these buttery, cheese-laden cookies on hand for drop-in guests year round as they’re better than a bowl of mixed nuts and just about as easy to make. Versatile, attractive, and positively addictive, they’re great for a before-dinner nibble, a cocktail party hors d’oeuvre, or a pre-theater or movie snack with a glass of wine.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes about eighty 2-inch cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)
1 cup grated aged Asiago or Manchego cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans (see page 168)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cheeses on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add the flour, salt, and cayenne pepper and beat on low speed until combined. Stir in the pecans. Divide the dough in half; shape each half into a roll about 2 inches in diameter and 8 to 10 inches long. Wrap in waxed paper and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

    Step 2

    Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease baking sheets with butter or cooking spray or line with silicone liners. Unwrap the dough and slice into 1/8-inch rounds. Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheets about 1/2 inch apart. Bake until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges and crisp, about 10 minutes.

  2. do it early

    Step 3

    Make the dough up to 2 weeks in advance, wrap in waxed paper and then a layer of plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use. Or keep baked cookies in an airtight container up to 3 days, or wrap and freeze for up to 3 weeks. Bring to room temperature before serving.

  3. tip

    Step 4

    Asiago is an Italian cow’s milk cheese that comes two ways: aged Asiago, which is a hard cheese (sometimes called the “poor man’s Parmesan”) that grates easily; and fresh Asiago, which is softer and lighter in color. Only aged Asiago will work in this recipe.

Pastry Queen Parties by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Copyright © 2009 Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Published by Ten Speed Press. All Rights Reserved. A pastry chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, native Texan Rebecca Rather has been proprietor of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café since 1999. Open for breakfast and lunch daily, Rather Sweet has a fiercely loyal cadre of regulars who populate the café’s sunlit tables each day. In 2007, Rebecca opened her eponymous restaurant, serving dinner nightly, just a few blocks from the café.  Rebecca is the author of THE PASTRY QUEEN, and has been featured in Texas Monthly, Gourmet, Ladies Home Journal, Food & Wine, Southern Living, Chocolatier, Saveur, and O, The Oprah Magazine. When she isn’t in the bakery or on horseback, Rebecca enjoys the sweet life in Fredericksburg, where she tends to her beloved backyard garden and menagerie, and eagerly awaits visits from her college-age daughter, Frances. Alison Oresman has worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. She has written and edited for newspapers in Wyoming, Florida, and Washington State. As an entertainment editor for the Miami Herald, she oversaw the paper’s restaurant coverage and wrote a weekly column as a restaurant critic. After settling in Washington State, she also covered restaurants in the greater Seattle area as a critic with a weekly column. A dedicated home baker, Alison is often in the kitchen when she isn't writing. Alison lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her husband, Warren, and their children, Danny and Callie.
TagsCheddarCheeseDairyAsiagoManchegoPecanNutStarterSnackDinnerVegetarianMake AheadBakingStand MixerCookbooks
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