Cheese Pennies

My husband LOVES cheese pennies. Except that he refers to them as "cheese dimes" because he thinks it's funny. Welcome to my world. : )

Regardless, they're a little bit cheese straw, a little bit cracker. All delicious!

Cheese Pennies

aka Paula Deen's Slice & Bake Cheese Straws

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• Prepackaged grated cheese will work, but is not ideal.
• Freshly grated cheese will incorporate into the dough much more easily.
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or 3/4 teaspoon, if you want extra spicy)

Using a food processor fitted with a dough blade, combine butter and cheese. Next, sift together flour, baking powder, slate and cayenne.  Add flour mixture to cheese mixture and pulse until dough forms a ball.

Not yet.

Keep going...

Bingo!

Turn dough out onto wax paper and roll into small logs.  Aim for the diameter of a penny and about 10" long.  A batch of dough makes about 7-10 logs.

Wrap individual logs tightly in wax paper and twist each end to close.  Place into the fridge until firm enough to slice without crushing, at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350*.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick sheets (i.e., Silpat liners). When dough is firm, cut in to 1/4" slices.

Place slices 1/2" apart and bake 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.

Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. They'll keep for at least a week!

Or, since a single batch yields nearly 8 dozen cheese pennies, they can be frozen.  Place into zip-top freezer bags, then in an airtight container.  Reheat in a 300* oven for 5 minutes prior to serving.

Cheese pennies, cheese dimes, heck... cheese quarters.  Whatever you call them, you'll want to keep some on hand.  But be warned... they're addictive!