Sheet Pan

LIGHT AS A FEATHER FLAKY CHEESEĀ HEARTS

by:
March 24, 2015
0
0 Ratings
Photo by LE BEC FIN
  • Makes 110
Author Notes

I have tried countless cheese dough recipes, but they never wow me. But then I developed these. The large ratio of cheese, the cayenne and the puffed rice really made this recipe work for me. The thinner you roll the dough, the better! My main problem is not eating a whole batch myself...... —LeBec Fin

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 Cup white whole wheat Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1 tsp Ground cayenne or chili flakes
  • 1 stick frozen unsalted Butter, cut into 1/2 Tablespoon slices
  • 3 Cups grated Cracker Barrel Aged Reserve cheddar
  • 1 cup Puffed rice cereal
  • 1/8 cup toasted sesame seeds
  • optional 1 large egg beaten with pinch of kosher salt- for optional glaze
Directions
  1. Mix Flour, salt and red pepper flakes in processor. Add butter.Buzz 3-4 times to mix til mixture is like small peas. Add cheese and buzz , a few seconds each time, til dough just starts to come together/clump. Put in bowl, add puffed rice and sesame seeds and hand knead quickly until the dough just comes together. Do not over mix. Cut dough in quarters. Roll out each piece until approx 1/8" thick, between 2 pieces of parchment.Slide onto flat bin lid or sheet pan or cake board and chill minimum 1 hour. Remove from frig, leaving on sheet pan. Remove top piece of parchment and save for reuse. Cut with heart shaped or other cutter. Place on flat pan or cake board lined with wax paper . Chill a minimum of 1/2 hour. To bake, transfer hearts to silpat or parchment -covered sheet pan. ** A faster version is just to roll out the piece of dough into an approximate rectangle, slide your thinnest bladed knife or cake spatula under the dough to loosen it, and lift it onto your baking sheet. Then use the same knife or spatula to cut/mark parallel 1/3" wide strips, pushing them apart as you go, so there's a little space between them. (Don't worry if some stick together; they'll just look like pan pipes and can be divided after they're baked!) optional- Brush with Salted Egg wash .
  2. Bake, 350 degrees ~13-15 min til well browned and hearts are crispy when cooled. (These are much better if crisp. If the first batch is not, bake the next batch another 2 minutes.)
  3. Makes approx 110 hearts, including rerolled dough. This dough is very forgiving; just keep gathering up the scraps and add them onto the edges of what you've rolled out.

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My eating passions are Japanese, Indian, Mexican; with Italian and French following close behind. Turkish/Arabic/Mediterranean cuisines are my latest culinary fascination. My desert island ABCs are actually 4 Cs: citrus, cumin, cilantro, cardamom, and GARLIC! I am so excited by the level of sophistication that I see on Food52 and hope to contribute recipes that will inspire you like yours do me. I would like to ask a favor of all who do try a recipe of mine > Would you plse review it and tell me truthfully how it worked for you and/or how you think it would be better? I know many times we feel that we don't want to hurt someone's feelings, but. i really do want your honest feedback because it can only help me improve the recipe.Thanks so much.

2 Reviews

LeBec F. January 15, 2016
I should mention that I find them best when the dough has been rolled to its thinnest, and when they have been baked 'longer, not less' until they are brown underneath, not white. In the past, I always used a heart cutter for them, but a MUCH faster technique is to treat your rolled-out dough as a ~ rectangle/square, divide it into ~3" wide strips and cut down every ~ 1/2 inch, from top to bottom of the strip. ( I use my cake spatula's long edge as the cutter.)Transfer them to baking sheet with a metal pancake or cake spatula; cut the next strip and transfer those. Brush pan of 'cheese sticks' with egg glaze and then bake!
 
LeBec F. January 15, 2016
To clarify, I hold my cake spatula horizontally and cut horizontal 1/2 inch strips, starting at the top of the dough and moving downward to the bottom.
I leave the rough edges as is and eat those myself!