Sister's Cheese Wafers

The Summer so far has been filled with visitors in and out of the house and with quick road trips here and there. If there is one thing that I can cook to make everybody happy it is Sister's Cheese Wafers. They are a hit anytime anywhere.

Sister's Cheese Wafers put people in a festive mood. They are crispy and spicy and they go great with coffee for breakfast, diet coke for an afternoon snack or with a 'libation' during cocktail hour. A cheese wafer on a road trip can make the trip itself feel like a party.

There are alot of recipes for cheese wafers, cheese straws, cheese pennies, but we think Sister's Cheese Wafers are the very best. Sister is David's mother. Her given name was Katherine Quinn but everybody calls her Sister. She got this Cheese Wafer recipe from her mother, Katherine Briggs Quinn. Katherine Briggs grew up in Raleigh, married Aaron Quinn and they had four children - Sister, Pete, Ennis and Charlie. Sister said her mother had given her a box of handwritten recipes when she married David's father and the Cheese Wafer recipe was in the box. I asked if it was okay to blog this recipe and she laughed and said, "oh heaven's yes! I have given that recipe out many times."

It may not matter if you have the recipe or not because making cheese wafers is another one of those things that takes some practice. Also it helps to have the right pan. I mentioned to Lynn's husband, Tommy, that sometimes food is only good if it is cooked in the right pan. Tommy said he sure would like to have the pan Sister makes cheese wafers in.

I make cheese wafer rolls on one day and then refrigerate until I am ready to bake them. You have to bake the cheese wafers just before you plan to serve them for two reasons - 1) they get stale within a couple of days; and 2) they get eaten up within a couple of days.

I store them in cookie tins and those tins have become familiar to alot of folks. One red cookie tin says David's Cookies and we bought it years ago on a trip to NYC with Susan and Thomas. I have kept it all these years and always put cheese wafers in there for David on his birthday, Father's Day and many other times. Family and friends know when they see the red tin that cheese wafers are in there and that means the cheese wafers can disappear really fast. When I have a big crowd around for a weekend, I hide extra tins of cheese wafers so I can ration them or they won't last past the first day.

Sister's Cheese Wafers

8 ounces Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
1 stick melted butter
1 cup flour (I use self rising and do not add salt which is not the original recipe)
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
Cayenne Pepper to taste

Pour butter over grated cheese and mix. Add flour, pecans and pepper. Divide into two long rolls and wrap in saran wrap. Keep in the fridge until ready to bake.

When ready to bake, slice and bake on a cookie sheet at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes. Then, put them on paper towels to cool and to absorb some of the grease. We like cheese wafers really crispy. As David says, "There is a fine line between cooked and burned."