Smokey Cheddar Cheese & Olive Balls

Hey guys! I have a pretty simple appetizer recipe to share today! I made these for Christmas day, but they would be just as good for any New Year celebrations! 

I adapted the recipe from a recipe out of The Williamsburg Cookbook: Traditional and contemporary recipes adapted from the taverns and inns of Colonial Williamsburg. I visited Williamsburg a few years back and loved it! I'm so glad I own this cookbook. I randomly found it at an antique shop here in town.

This is the only picture I was able to take before they were devoured!

Their recipe calls for:

1/4 Pound cheddar cheese

1/4 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon paprika

3/4 cup all purpose flour

36-40 stuffed Spanish olives, drained

What I used (I also doubled the recipe!):

2 cups shredded smoked cheddar cheese

1/2 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon milk

70-80 large Spanish olive halves, drained (I had huge olives from Costco, so I just cut them in half)

Here's what I did:

1. Put my cheese, paprika, and room temp butter in my mixer. Mixed until smooth.

2. Slowly added the flour. If you find that the dough is too dry, add a bit of milk.

3. Taking teaspoon sized scoops of the dough, I flattened it in my hand and then rolled it around an olive half. Placed it on a greased cookie sheet.

4. Once all of the olives were rolled, I put the cookie sheet in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until they start to get a golden color.

These little babies are best right out of the oven, but can last a couple of days in the fridge. You can also make them ahead and freeze them (un-baked) and then put them in the oven for about 30 minutes straight out of the freezer.

And there you have it! I will say, rolling all the olives in the dough is a little time consuming, but it's totally worth it! Hope you enjoy.

I hope that you all had a blessed Christmas!