This recipe makes a delightful appetizer for tailgating or for holiday parties. The wafers are crisp with a little kick of spice from the cayenne pepper. You can top them with pecans, as I have, or leave them plain.
1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature
8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups of flour
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Approximately ⅓ cup of water
Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and shredded cheese together. Stir together the flour, cayenne pepper and salt. Add the flour by batches to the cheese mix. The mix will be crumbly at this point. Add cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together in a stiff dough.
Knead the dough slightly, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and roll the dough out to ¼ inch thickness. Fold the dough over and repeat. Return the dough to the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes. Repeat this process a total of 4 times. Chill for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 2 parts and return the second part to the refrigerator. Roll out the dough to ¼ thickness or less. The wafers will rise in height during the cooking process. Cut out shapes, or using a pizza cutter, cut into diamonds. If topping with pecans, brush a small amount of beaten egg on the center of the wafer before placing the nut. Repeat with remaining dough. You will not need to use additional flour to work with the dough.
Place the wafers on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. The bottoms of the wafers should be browned when done. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.