Cheddar Olives

By Hapemom

When planning a cocktail party, always make sure to have one "straight-from-freezer-to-oven" recipe, and make extra. You can keep refilling the tray as long as you need to, and any leftovers stay in the freezer for the next party.

There's only one problem. With this favorite straight-from-freezer-to-oven recipe, there are never any leftovers. Ever. No matter how many you make.

Even when we've quintupled this recipe for a cocktail party, they were all gone before the party was over. People just can't get enough of the warm, cheddary, slightly crumbly pastry enclosing a juicy olive.

A single recipe probably takes about 20 minutes or less to get in the oven. Obviously, the more you make, the longer it will take, but once you've got the dough made, rolling the olives is pretty mindless.

Ingredients

• an 8 to 10 ounce jar of pitted green olives, either pimento stuffed or plain.
• 1 cup sharp Cheddar, shredded
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne OR 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika or freshly grated black pepper to taste
• *We prefer the cayenne, but in a pinch we've made it with the paprika and it was good as well! You just want a little something in there to cut the richness.

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Drain the olives well, and dry them completely with paper towels. Set aside.

Combine the other ingredients in a bowl and mix well until a dough forms. You can kneed it with your hands, if necessary, until it has the consistency of playdough.

Pinch off a small amount of dough, flatten it, and wrap it around a dry olive. Being careful not to squeeze the olive, pinch off any excess, then roll it in your hands until smooth. Continue until all the olives are covered.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. OR freeze, wrapped tightly, for up to a week. Bake straight from the freezer for 20 minutes.

Serve immediately.