Christmas eve. The tree(s) is up, the house is decorated and presents are under the tree. All that's left to do is set out a plate of cookies and milk for Santa. Think about it: If Santa had a just one bite of a cookie and sip of milk, he'd be in a diabetic coma before leaving the Upper West Side. So this year, how about we switch things up and leave Santa a treat that he'll really enjoy!
This year, we opted to leave Santa a couple bottles of bourbon that he can pick from. The first is our house standard, Buffalo Trace. The second is a bottle of Hunter & Scott that the wife brought back from her last trip to Richmond. We haven't tried this one yet but are looking forward to sipping something new.
To pair with the bourbon, we're leaving two types of cheese straws. The recipe for the long cheese straws can be found here. I will warn you that these are delicate and are best eaten the day they were made. The cheese cookies (round) will keep for a few days in a covered container and freeze beautifully. Play around with the spices. The wife adds (a lot) more than the original recipe calls for. Either way, they're both delicious and will be a nice palate cleanser for Santa after all of those cookies.
We'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Cheese cookies
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups flour
1 1/2 sticks softened butter
2 cups rice krispies
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard
couple dashes Tobasco
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all the ingredients by hand or in a stand mixer, on low, using a paddle attachment. Roll dough into walnut size balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Using the tines of a fork, press a criss cross pattern onto the top of the cookies, flatting them as you go. Bake 12-15 or until lightly browned.