Cheddar Pecan Crisps Food

SOUTHERN PECAN CRISPS

Steps:

• THAW pastry sheet at room temperature 40 min. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix brown sugar, butter and pecans.
• UNFOLD pastry on lightly floured surface. Roll into 15"x 12" rectangle. Cut into 20 (3") squares. Press squares into bottoms of 3" muffin-pan cups. Place 1 heaping tsp. pecan mixture in center of each.
• BAKE 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from pans. Let cool. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Makes 20 pastries.

CHEDDAR PECAN CRISPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Beat together butter and Cheddar in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth, then beat in remaining ingredients.
• Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into balls and arrange 3 inches apart on buttered baking sheets. Flatten each ball into a 1 1/2-inch disk and bake in batches in middle of oven until golden, 15 to 18 minutes.

HOMEMADE CHEDDAR AND PECAN CRISPS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Coarsely grate the cheddar cheese, and transfer it to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cut the two sticks of butter into sixteen pieces, and scatter the pieces over the cheese. Let the cheese and butter soften. Place the pecans in one layer on a baking sheet, and toast them in the oven until they are a shade darker and fragrant, 7 to 8 minutes. While the nuts are still warm, transfer them to a medium bowl and toss with the remaining tablespoon of butter (the hot nuts will melt the butter) and salt to taste. Cool the nuts completely, then finely chop.
• Add the chopped pecans, flour, a pinch of salt, cayenne, and black pepper to the bowl of the mixer, and beat the ingredients at medium speed until the mixture pulls together into a dough, about 2 minutes.
• Divide the dough into eight pieces. On a sheet of waxed paper, roll each piece of the dough into a log 1 inch in diameter, and wrap the logs tightly in waxed paper and foil. Chill the logs for at least 8 hours and up to 1 week. The dough will keep frozen for 2 months.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Working with one log at a time, cut the log crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices, and arrange the slices 1/2 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake the crisps in batches until they are golden and just firm to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool the wafers on the baking sheet. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the wafers will keep for up to 4 days.

CHEESE CRISPIES

Steps:

• Beat butter and cheese until blended. In another bowl, whisk flour, salt and cayenne; gradually beat into cheese mixture. Stir in Rice Krispies. If necessary, turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4-6 times, forming a stiff dough., Divide dough in half; shape each into a 7-in.-long roll. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. Unwrap and cut dough crosswise into 1/4-in. slices. Place 1 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. If desired, top each slice with a pecan half. Bake until edges are golden brown, 14-16 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. To Make Ahead: Dough can be made 2 days in advance. Freeze option: Freeze wrapped logs in an airtight container. To use, unwrap frozen logs and cut into slices. Bake as directed.