One of the whole reasons we decided to start this site was to promote a cookbook I am working on of Mama’s recipes. Not only will it have her recipes, but also some of my favorite stories and pieces of advice that she has passed down to me through the years. One thing I have discovered is that a lot of her recipes are deceptively easy. They are easy in the sense that they may not have all that many ingredients or steps, but the deceptive part appears to be in the technique. A seasoned cooking vet like Mama can take a few random things and turn them into something amazing, and a rank amateur such as myself can barely take a kit step by step and make it come out correctly. I clearly did not get this gene or skill or whatever it is, but I’m hoping to redeem myself in some capacity by at least getting her stuff down on paper so that my generation can at least have a shot at TRYING to cook something decent. Now I won’t give away all the chapters and details, but I will say that one of the chapters is called “My Favorite Things That Mama Cooks.” This chapter will encompass my absolute favorite things that she makes along with my favorite stories of all time about her. There are a lot to choose from, of both recipes AND stories. For this post I picked a recipe that appears to be super easy, but of course if you somehow manage to not do it correctly, you will fail miserably!
I should tell you that when I told Dena about this recipe and how much I loved it when Mama would make it for me, Dena SWEARS that never in her entire life did Mama make her these cheese pennies. I told her Mama made them for me all the time when I was little, but this is probably because I am her favorite. Or it could be because I was home alone with her so much as a child she got bored and started making up random recipes to entertain herself. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little cracker-type creation, and be on the lookout for the Red Velvet Wisdom book that will be available on Amazon in the next month or so!
Cheese Pennies
- 1 lb of grated cheddar cheese
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1/2 stick of margarine (softened)
- hot sauce
Take the cheddar cheese, and sift in flour. Add margarine and about 6 drops of hot sauce (more or less depending on your preference). Mix with hands until batter is stiff. Roll the batter into a ball then divide the ball in half. Take one half of the ball and roll it out like a snake, until it is about as big around as a quarter. Repeat with the other half off the batter. Take both rolls, and wrap in wax paper. Place in the refrigerator and allow them to chill thoroughly. After they are chilled, unroll and slice with a very sharp knife (about 1/4 of an inch thick). Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes at 350.
