Saturday, December 8, 2012

Christmas Baking - Cocktail Cheese Biscuits




Lindaraxa's Christmas kitchen was hopping today and it was the perfect day for it...rainy and yucky to do anything but stay inside and vegetate.  I chose instead to start getting some of my presents ready, particularly the ones that are going out of town.




I baked half of the cocktail cheese biscuits and one batch of the Peppermint Bark Brownies as I am still experimenting with the latter.  I have so many to make I have decided to take a short cut this year and make the recipe I will be posting in the country blog.  The roasted pecans and the gingerbread men are on the docket for tomorrow.  I just might make my special mustard this weekend too but that one stays at home with maybe a tad for a very special friend.  It can be a particularly expensive proposition if you make it with the right ingredients!








I got different size Christmas tin boxes,  already half price, at Hobby Lobby.


Cocktail Cheese Biscuits

1 stick of butter, cut into pieces
2 cups grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup of flour ( I use King Arthur's)
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. cayenne (red) pepper or paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In the mixer with paddle attachment combine butter and cheese.  Add the mustard powder, salt and red pepper to the cup of flour.  Add the flour mix to the butter/cheese. Mix until it comes to a ball. Remove and shape into a log about an inch and a half in diameter.  If you are going to bake right away, put the dough in the freezer for about 10 minutes to harden so it will be easier to slice.  Slice in 1/4 inch thick slices, lay them in a baking pan slightly apart and bake for about 17 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.  Enjoy!

They will darken and crisp up when they cool.

Note.  Use really good cheese and grate it yourself.  Do not use the ready grated variety! Red pepper is the way to go.

This recipe has been adapted from 300 Years of Carolina Cooking


You might also want to try Cocktail Pecan Cheese Wafers in the lake blog

8 comments:

  1. These sound delicious. I must give it a go!

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  2. I will definitely try this. I have made cheese straws before from a similar recipe, but these look a lot simpler.

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  3. One does so adore a good cheesey, peppery, southern cocktail bisquit. Must try this recipe. First time I had one, as a teenager, I nearly fainted. I will never forget it: "Sis Paine's Cocktail Biscuit" made by the mother of a southern friend of mine at boarding school. She sent a tin of them to him. But no cocktails were allowed in the dorm room (although sometimes they made an appearance...). Reggie
    PS, we will be dining on your standing rib roast and Yorkshire Pudding again this Christmas. It's become a Darlington House tradition!

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  4. Columnist,

    Go for it! Easy to make and terrific with cocktails.

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  5. Parnassus,

    When I lived in North Carolina this is what everyone made. I had a friend who made a fortune when she went commercial with her recipe. Much easier than the straws and, in my opinion, better

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  6. Ah Reg, you flatter me. So happy to know I will be a part of your Christmas dinner again this year. Make plenty of these for cocktails and freeze some for later on in the year. They keep well in a tin and freeze beautifully.

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  7. These are a big part of my taste buds' holiday memories. They were always being made in various shapes by my mother and we often received them as gifts from neighbors in Cincinnati where I was raised. I made them when our kids were little and tried to keep them in the freezer to await guests. Problem was I kept remembering they were in there and snacked on them daily! Going to make them again this season, thanks for the recipe!

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  8. My mother-in-law made these for Christmas and I've made them twice since. Everyone loves them, they are PERFECT with cocktails and so easy. I'm excited to try freezing a couple batches and using them "as-needed." Thank you for sharing!

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