My mom was reading a profile in southern living and this socialite....maybe Bunny something, said she always keeps Duncan Hines mixes and cheese staws in her pantry for guests.
I’ve never been good at cheese straws; but this is just as tasty and easily freezes for future entertaining emergencies:
Olive Cheese Puffs
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Ingredients:
2 Cups grated, sharp Cheddar Cheese
¼ lb. Butter (one stick from a pound)
1 cup of Flour, salted to taste (I usually don’t use salt; the olives and cheese are enough)
pinch of Cayenne
Jar of Pimento-Stuffed Olives
1.Blend together in a food processor the grated cheese, butter, and flour.
2.Process until dough comes together in a ball.
3.Chill, covered, for about 20 minutes before forming puffs. (You don’t want it to get too hard. When I’ve tried making the dough the day before and doing the balls the next day, it’s been very subpar. You want to make the balls the same day that you make the dough, and chill just a bit, to get it firm enough to handle well.)
4.Pinch off a ball of dough, about an inch in diameter, and pat it into a thin disc in your palm; then place an olive in the middle. Pinch up the dough to cover the olive, and roll between your palms until smooth. (Or, dough can be rolled out to ¼ inch thickness, cut into 2 inch squares, and each square wrapped around an olive - but that’s too much trouble for me, and usually results in too much dough.)
5.Place puffs on a cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes. ( I usually use parchment paper on the sheet.) Then remove to a wire rack to cool.
(To freeze unbaked, freeze on cookie sheet and remove to freezer containers when hard. When ready to bake, allow 3-5 minutes extra baking time.)
Southern hospitality at its fullest.