Cheddar Cheese Rounds

Orange -colored sharp cheddar with give the rounds a deep golden hue. To make this dough with a hand held mixer, chop the nuts finely and then mix all the ingredients until combined, about 3 minutes.


Source:- The Cook's Country Cookbook

Makes about 5 dozen cheese rounds

Ingredients:-

Pecans:- 1/4 Cup
All purpose flour:- 1 1/4 cups
Cornstarch:- 1 Tbsp
Shredded Sharp cheddar cheese( see note above):- 2 cups
Unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened:- 8 tbsp
Cayenne pepper:- 1/4 tsp
Salt:- 1/2 tsp

Procedure:-

1) Process the pecans, flour and cornstarch in a food processor until finely ground.

2) Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until a dough forms.Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into two 8 inch logs.

3)Wrap tightly with plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.( The logs can also be wrapped in plastic, then foil and frozen for up to 1 month.Defrost in the refrigerator before proceeding with next step).

4) Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle positions and heat the oven to 400 degrees.

5)Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. unwrap and slice the logs inro 1/4 inch rounds and place the rounds 3/4 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.

6)Bake until goldne , about 15 minutes, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking.

7)Let cool 3 minutes on the sheets, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Serve.( The rounds can be kept in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)