These are always a great hit when I serve them at parties, as they’re rich and crumbly like shortbread cookies but they aren’t sweet, so they’re nice for people who don’t like sweets or are staying away from them, but they’re still, well, cookies. And there are rarely more than a few left at the end of the evening. They’re no more labor-intensive than regular cookies, especially if you do what I tell you and roll them into balls instead of rolling them out.
Spicy Cheddar Cookies
Adapted from a recipe in the Washington Post many years ago. I would suggest putting a sign on the platter warning people that these are not sweet cookies; otherwise, you may have some very surprised people!
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2- teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste, or any other chile powder you like. I refused to buy cayenne pepper at the grocery story because it’s so ridiculously expensive. Instead, I bought some cheap store-brand “chipotle chile pepper” which I liked very much, combined with some mild green chile powder I had on hand. Start out with a small amount of whatever type of chile powder you use and then taste. I made these pretty spicy.
- 8 ounces, 2 sticks butter Yes, two sticks. Yes, butter.
- 4 cups grated sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese The sharper the better.
- Pecan halves
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
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The fastest and easiest way to make the dough is in the food processor. Dump in the dry ingredients (flour through chile pepper) and process briefly to combine. Cut the butter into ¼” or so slices, distribute them over the flour mixture, and process in pulses until the butter is combined and the dough looks crumbly. Then add the cheese and process again. You should end up with a pale orange, smooth dough.
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Roil out the dough on a lightly floured work surface or between pieces of wax paper or parchment paper (the best is the parchment, but that may not be something you have on hand) to ¼-inch thickness. Cut into rounds with serrated-edge cookie cutter, then press a pecan half into each one. Alternatively, if you just can’t stand the thought of rolling it out, take heaping teaspoons full, roll into balls, and flatten with your fingers or a fork. Be sure not to skip the flattening step, as otherwise the cookies are too thick and don't get done in the middle.
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Transfer to.ungreased. baking sheets and bake for10 to 12 minutes, or jüst until light brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store between layers of wax paper in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days; after that, I would think you should freeze them. The original recipe says you can store them at room temperature for up to 5 days, but I think that’s a bit much.
