A quick Cheddar cheese dough is wrapped around weiner slices and baked for a quick and inexpensive appetizer. Better yet, they may be made in advance and frozen, so you can have them on hand for parties and the ever-important sports games. Try substituting other cured or cooked cold sausages for the hot dogs.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 pound (2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese
1 stick (1/2 cup or 8 Tablespoons) very cold butter, cut into small cubes
5 weiners (hot dogs), each cut into 10 equal slices
Preparation:
Whisk together salt, paprika, and flour. Set aside.

Place the cheddar cheese and butter in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. With machine running, slowly pour the flour mixture down the feed chute and stop as soon as the mixture is combined. Do not over-process.

Take about 1 teaspoon of the cheese mixture, press it around each weiner slice, and roll into a ball shape. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all of the weiner slices. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

The appetizers may be frozen on a cookie sheet, uncovered, at this point. Once frozen, place in a zip-top bag, squeeze out all the air, and seal. Let them thaw slowly in the refrigerator before baking. They should be cold when they go into the oven, but not frozen.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking liners or parchment paper.

Bake cheese weiner bites in preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 50 appetizers