Hot Cheese Olives

Published Sept. 2, 2020

Hot Cheese Olives
Melina Hammer for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Rating
5(1,250)
Comments
Read comments

This is classic 1950s cocktail fare that, unlike the savory gelées and boiled ham canapés that are best forgotten, we still want to eat today. Just wrap cocktail olives in a simple Cheddar dough and bake until golden. Martini optional.

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Ingredients

Yield:50 hors d'oeuvres
  • 8tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 8ounces (2 cups) grated extra-sharp Cheddar
  • cups unsifted all-purpose flour
  • teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼teaspoon ground cayenne
  • Dash of Worcestershire sauce
  • 1large egg
  • 50small pimento-stuffed cocktail olives, drained and patted dry
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (50 servings)

53 calories; 4 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 55 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter until creamy in a large mixing bowl, add the cheese and mix well. Stir in the flour, salt, cayenne and the Worcestershire and mix until smooth. Beat the egg with 2 tablespoons cold water. Add to the dough and mix just until incorporated. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Remove the dough and flatten out a piece about the size of a walnut into a thin round. Place an olive on top and shape it around the olive, pinching to repair any breaks. Place it on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and olives. Bake until the dough sets, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,250 user ratings
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Comments

I've made this several times, always to raves. Once the dough is chilled, I roll it out, cut a square, settle the olive inside the square, and fold the square around the olive. Much easier than pinching and fussing and you can use a good sized olive, adjusting the size of the square to the size of the olive.

Martini optional? What is she thinking??

I have even frozen these before baking. They are great for last minute drop-in guests. Addictive!

Made again with small pimento stuffed olives. They really were small ones. The dough is never smooth so that’s a weird way to describe the first stage of making it. It could not be smooth with grated cheese, flour and butter. I used the recommended spices and next time I would probably adjust -carefully. In the past when I did double some people who were sensitive to spice said it was too spicy with the cayenne. Hesitate a bit to use more cayenne because the heat does present itself late in the bite. and maybe a bit more Worcester but these are great. They took about 25 minutes at 350. I think next time I will follow a recommendation of using a higher temperature to bake. They do not brown, however I did freeze about three dozen and kept a dozen for us to have tonight

Definitely double the cayenne and add other spices like ground mustard, paprika, dried onion flakes, parsley, etc. Try with a cheddar cheese spread instead of grated off a block. Cook at least 20-25 minutes or fry to get some crispness in the breading.

I feel like batter is flawed, it's floury. They don't brown nearly as nice as in the picture.

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