Cheese coin crackers (recipe).

This is another recipe from Cook's Country magazine (they've never steered me wrong). I first made these over the holidays to bring to a Christmas party (a few people thought they were sugar cookies at first, I'd recommend labeling them to avoid a strange taste bud surprise). They were a huge hit, and I ended up not having any left to take pictures of. When my mom was here earlier this month, I talked her into making up a batch for the baby shower, and this time I made sure to snap some photos before they were all gone.

This recipe makes about 5 dozen cheese coins (perfect for a party), but if you want to make fewer you can freeze the extra dough (for up to one month). The original recipe calls for cheddar cheese, but we substituted pepper jack which gave them a lovely little kick of spice. The dough is mixed entirely in the food processor, so this comes together very quickly.

Cheese Coin Crackers
Makes about 60 crackers

Ingredients
8 ounces pepper jack cheese
1.5 cups AP flour
1 tbs cornstarch
1/4 ts cayenne
1/4 ts paprika
8 tbs butter, chilled
3 tbs cold water

Instructions
1) Combine the cheese, flour, cornstarch, cayenne, and paprika in the food processor (I just break the cheese into chunks, and let the food processor shred it the rest of the way, but you could grate it beforehand if you want). Add butter, and process another 30 seconds, then add the water and process until a dough ball forms (10 to 20 seconds).

2) Divide the dough in half, and roll both pieces into a 10" long logs. Wrap each log in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f. Slice the dough logs into 1/4" coins. Place coins on parchment lined baking sheets about 1/2" apart. Bake 22 to 28 minutes until just golden on the edges (rotate trays once about halfway through for more even baking). Let cool before serving.

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