It’s funny to think just three years ago, I was just beginning my fall semester abroad in Paris. Going abroad was always apart of my college game plan, and Paris was at the top of my list. Correction, Paris was the list. I had only taken one French class at that time, so I wasn’t even eligible when I signed up. I rushed to take my third requirement that summer, and before I knew it I was off to live in a foreign country. I barely spoke the language, was away from all of my friends, smartphone-less, and, to my surprised, swamped with coursework.
But it was incredible. I remember spending countless hours roaming the streets alone, trying to absorb as much as I could. I made a point to visit as many farmers markets, patisseries, and chocolate shops as humanly possible. At the farmers markets they had the most incredible local, fresh cheese. My friends and I would grab some wine, our own baguette, and a bounty of insanely affordable cheese. Talk about a dream.
That’s when I fell in love with Comté. This cheese can be so easily overlooked. It has a basic, unsexy appearance, and often gets lost in the shadows of the Bries and Camemberts. But don’t overlook it. Replace that boring aged cheddar with this, and I promise your guests will be impressed. And if you make these wafers, good luck trying to have enough leftover to feed your guests. They are seriously THAT good. I ate 7 of them when I was taking pictures…They are so out of control good that I’m officially making these a cheese plate staple. Special thanks to the Cheese of Europe for providing me with such incredible cheese! You totally made my recipes magnifique!
I found this recipe here.
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ lb of Comte Cheese, shredded (about 3 cups)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp water
- In a large bowl, mix the butter and cheese together using a hand mixer.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt and cayenne.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 increments, until completely incorporated. Then add 2 tsp of water and mix until the dough starts to come together. There should be no dry pieces at the bottom of the bowl.
- On a sheet of plastic wrap, shape the dough into a log. Roll the log into the plastic wrap, and twist both sides of the log like a piece of candy. Add a small amount of pressure while continuing to twist. This should make a uniform shaped log. Wrap in another piece of plastic wrap to keep it together and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 3 days.
- Preheat the oven to 250 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment.
- Slice the dough into about ¼ inch, and place roughly two inches apart on the parchment.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden around the edges. For a harder/crunchier wafer, bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Serve immediately, or freeze and defrost in the oven for a quick fix.
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