Cheese Buttons

Never in my life have I heard of "cheese buttons" and everyone I asked never heard of them either.  I'm throwing a brunch Saturday morning and am planning on making these.  Anything with cheese in it is always good to me so why not.  Plus, I found the recipe in the Southern Living Christmas Cookbook and anything with "Southern" in the title is good enough for me. :-)  One good thing about it is that you can prep them, freeze them, then cook them when you want to serve them.  Perfect in my eyes since the brunch is at 10:30 and we have a Christmas party the night before.  My menu is going around the idea that I won't want to wake up. LOL

So I prepped the 3 dozen the other day and froze them.  3 dozen sounds like a lot but looking at them I decided I wanted to double the batch.  I decided to throw 3 in the oven to cook so I can make sure they are good before I make more.  WOW....if you are like me and LOVE cheese you will love, love, love these!!!!  They are so simple to make and you can freeze them up to 1 month before actually cooking them.

It calls for an 8 oz package of shredded cheese.  If you use the preshredded it comes out more like a "button".  If you shred your own in the food processor it'll be more like lace cookies.  I did the buttons b/c honestly, I can't find my shredding attachment for my food processor.  If you choose to shred your own make sure you switch the disc back to the knife blade. (these are the suggestions from Southern Living.)

1 (8 oz) package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground red pepper

• Combine all ingredients in a food processor; process until mixture forms a ball.
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets (see note).
• Bake, in batches, at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden.  Let stand 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool.

Yield: 3 dozen

Make Ahead Note: Freeze dough balls before baking; place frozen dough in zip-top plastic freezer bags, and seal.  Store in freezer up to 1 month, if desired.  Bake frozen dough balls on parchment paper-lined baking sheets at 400 for 15-17 minutes or until edges are golden.