THUMBPRINT WAFERS WITH PEPPER JELLY

Julia Reed’s Cheese Thumbprint Wafers with Hot Pepper Jelly

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces

1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

½ cup grated Parmesan

½ cup hot pepper jelly, red or green

There is almost no combination of sharp cheese and flour and butter that I don’t like, especially as an hors d’oeuvre with a cocktail. This particular cheese wafer is enlivened with a dab of pepper jelly and is a cinch to make.

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse briefly to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture has the texture of coarse cornmeal. Add the cheeses and blend until the dough begins to form a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gather it into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to two days. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, using a scant tablespoon of dough for each one, and place 1 inch apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and press your thumb into the top of each ball to create an indentation. Place about ½ teaspoon of jelly into each indentation and return the sheet to the oven.

Bake until lightlybrowned, 6 to 8 more minutes. Makes about 20 wafers.

Recipe from “Julia Reed’s New Orleans: Food, Fun and Field Trips for Letting the Good Times Roll.”