These Cheddar Parmesan + Hot Red Pepper Linzer “Cookies” are actually great, except that they are pretty fragile and they fall apart easily. You can put them on a charcuterie platter, but can’t put them in a bag or box to mail. Delicious, but a little impractical. Oh well, guess I’ll just have to eat them myself.
Ingredients
4 1/2 cups white cheddar cheese, shredded fine
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated fine
1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon Aleppo Pepper
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups spicy hot pepper jam
You will also need two cookie cutters — one larger for the bottoms and one smaller, to cut the whole in the middle.
Directions
In a food processor, pulse together Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses and butter until smooth. Add egg yolk and pepper and pulse until blended. Add flour and pulse until the dough comes together. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.
Roll dough in batches to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with the larger cutter. Cut centers out of half of cookies with a smaller cutter. Make sure that you have an even number of solid and cut out cookies. For the “top” ones (the ones with the holes in the center, brush with a very light coating of water and sprinkle with just a little bit the finely chopped pecans. Press gently, so they adhere nicely. Place cookies on prepared baking sheets, approximately 1-2 inches apart.
Bake for 12-14 minutes (depending on size and thickness), until golden brown. Careful that the tops with pecans don’t burn. Cool on wire racks. Once cooled, spread solid cookies with the jam and then sandwich with a cut out cookie. Serve with wine and cheese.
