Spicy Honey Rosemary Cheese Snacks

Spicy Honey Rosemary Cheese Snacks

YIELD: Makes 48 4-inch sticks

INGREDIENTS

4 oz. (about 2 cups) - sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) - cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 T - honey

1 tsp. - hot sauce

3/4 cup - all-purpose flour

1/2 cup - fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. - coarse salt

For Glaze:

1/4 cup - honey

1 tsp. - hot sauce

coarse salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two sheet pans with baking parchment.

Place the cheese, butter, honey and hot sauce in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the flour, rosemary and salt and pulse repeatedly until mixture clumps and forms a ball when pinched between fingertips.

Remove the food processor blade. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press into a ½ inch thick circle. Divide the circle in quarters. Cut each quarter into 4 even pieces. Gently roll each piece into a 12- inch long pencil thin rope. Cut into 4-inch lengths and place on the prepared baking sheets at 1 inch intervals.

To create the glaze: Combine honey and hot sauce in a small saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring until very thin-about 5 to 10 seconds. With a small brush lightly brush each stick with the honey.

Bake until lightly browned on the bottom, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and with two small spatulas carefully turn each stick over. Bake 2 to 5 minutes longer or until nicely browned. Remove the pans from the oven. Sprinkle the sticks lightly with coarse salt. Cool completely before removing from the sheet pans.

Arrange on a plate and cover lightly with a dish towel. If tightly covered the sticks will lose their crispness. Alternately, wrap the sticks in baking parchment.

Recipe courtesy of Marie Simmons, cookbook author.

TIP

Try a clover or orange blossom honey varietal with this recipe.