Cheese-Pecan Cocktail Coins

About the size of a half dollar, these delicate little wafers have a surprisingly big flavor. In fact, they are one of my favorite pre-dinner bites because they do more to pique my appetite than fill me up. I also appreciate that the recipe relies on ingredients I usually have on hand (cheese, flour, butter, nuts), and that the dough comes together quickly in a food processor. The cheese determines the overall character, so choose something assertive with a bit of age. My favorites here are nutty Comté, Gruyère or sharp Cheddar, plus a bit of Parmesan, but you can play around with other good grating cheeses. You could also swap out the pecans with walnuts or pine nuts. 

            The texture of the coins depends on how you shape them. If you prefer a flakier, almost pastry like wafer, roll and stamp out the dough as you would Christmas cookies. For a crumbly, more shortbread-like texture, shape the dough into a log to form slice-and-bake style. I’ve explained both methods below. Either way you make them, their full flavor emerges only after they’ve cooled. In fact, I find the flavor continues to develop for a full 2 days after baking. 

Make ahead note: The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to 1 month, before shaping and baking. If you've shaped the log into a disk, just slice-and-bake directly from the freezer. If you've shaped it into a disk, let the dough thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling and shaping. Once baked, the coins last in the freezer for a few months. Thaw at room temperature, and then pop into a 325-degree (300 degree convection) oven for about 5 minutes to bring out their flavor. 

Makes 7 to 8 dozen coins 

1/2 cup (2 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher or medium-grain sea salt (or 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt)

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheese, such as Comte, Gruyere or sharp Cheddar (see recipe introduction)

1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan

8 tablespoons (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons cream, milk or water, more as needed

1. Combine the dry ingredients and cheeses. Pulse the pecans in a food processor outfitted with the chopping blade until finely chopped but not ground to a paste. Add the flour, salt, mustard and cayenne, and pulse until everything is well mixed. Add the cheeses, and pulse to combine.

2. Cut in the butter. Drop the butter into a food processor, scattering it around so it’s not all concentrated in one spot. Pulse until the dough resembles coarse crumbs; the pieces of butter should be no larger than peas. Add the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons cream or milk, and pulse again into well incorporated. Test the dough by squeezing a bit between your fingertips; it should clump together easily. If the dough is too dry to hold together, add an additional teaspoon or two of cream or milk, although this is usually not necessary. 

3. Turn out the dough and shape into disk or log. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and gather together into a cohesive lump. If the dough feels crumbly or unevenly mixed, use the heel of your hand to smear the dough away from you, then gather it up with a pastry scraper, and repeat until it holds together. 

            Shape and press the dough into either a flat disk or a log (about 12 inches by 1 1/4 inch diameter) according to how you want to shape the coins; a log allows you to slice and bake, and the disk is for rolling out, see the introduction for how this effects the texture. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.

3. Heat the ovento 375 degrees (or 350 degrees convection) with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line 2 rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. 

4. Shape the coins. For stamped coins, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to just under 1/4-inch thick. Stamp out 1 1/2-inch rounds or other shapes with a cookie cutter, or cut into 1 1/2-inch squares with a knife. 

            For sliced coins, slice the log into coins just under 1/4-inch thick. Any scraps from either method, can be rolled and shaped into additional coins. 

5. Bake.Arrange about 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheets.  Bake until medium to deeply golden around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes, switching the baking sheets halfway through if needed to brown evenly. Set the baking sheets on racks to cool.

6. Serve. As tempting it is to snag a cheese coin warm from the oven, their flavor develops only after they cool. Any coins not served within 6 hours should be transferred to an airtight container to store at room temperature for up to 2 days. 

Variation: Lemon-Rosemary Cheese Coins

Here’s an alternate cheese coin recipe fragrant with lemon and rosemary. Follow the recipe above, eliminating the cayenne and mustard, and adding 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, 2 teaspoons cracked black pepper and 2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary in their place. Use aged Cheddar and Pamesan cheese, and substitute pine nuts for the pecans.