Cheese Cats, Bats, and Jack-O’-Lanterns

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Cheese Cats, Bats, and Jack-O’-Lanterns Cheese Cats, Bats, and Jack-O’-Lanterns Recipe Courtesy of


Servings: 10 dozen cookies
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients Add to grocery list

¾ pound (12 ounces) well-aged, extra-sharp cheddar, grated
¼ pound (4 ounces) Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
¼ pound (½ cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 generous teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or more, to taste
½ teaspoon salt
10 ounces (about 2 cups) all-purpose flour

Directions

In a food processor fitted with a steel blade or with a stand mixer, cream both cheeses with the butter until fluffy and smooth.

Whisk together the cayenne, salt, and flour in a separate bowl. Add it all to the processor or in batches to the mixer and work into a smooth dough. Gather into a ball, wrap well in plastic wrap, and chill 30 minutes. Don’t let it chill hard. If you make it ahead, soften at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325° F. Roll out the dough on a lightly flour a work surface about 1/8-inch thick and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. If you don’t have a jack-o’-lantern cutter, use a pumpkin cutter and cut out a face with a sharp paring knife dipped in flour.

Bake 16 to 18 minutes, being careful not to let them brown. The bottoms should be golden but the tops and sides should not color. Cool on wire racks. Store in airtight tins.

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Reader Comments:

54321

Love, love you, Paula. You always make me feel so happy when I watch you on t.v. Your recipes are the bomb. The cheese recipe above is like my cheese straw, an appetizer. My company loves them always for the last 55 years. Wrap the dough around a green olive and bake.

By Gale Frederick on October 22, 2012

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