Cheesy Crackers frm @MaddieDayAuthor #Christmas #giveaways

 MADDIE here, with easy yummy cheesy crackers!

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The holidays are upon us. I know you can tell from our fun seasonal banner! This year the season is going to be very different in terms of gathering indoors. At least here in New England, it's too cold to have distanced cocktail hours with friends in the garden or on the deck as we enjoyed in the summer and fall. 

I've done a bit of decorating indoors, but with a maniac kitten and nobody coming to visit, we're not putting up a tree this year. This nutcracker, on the other hand, one of many pieces of fabric art my late quilter mother made for us, is happily on the wall. 

And we've strung lights up too high even for Ganesh to leap up and pull down.

For those of you who have figured out ways to safely gather, or live with one or more people, you're going to want a fresh recipe for an appetizer to go with those winter cocktails. After my friend Joan brought these cheesy crackers to my garden in September, I demanded the recipe. They are light and tasty and easy to make. And they're a bit different from the recipe Lucy posted last month.

And, because Christmas is coming, I'll send one commenter a copy of Candy Slain Murder and another a paperback of Christmas Cocoa Murder, which includes my novella, "Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse."

Cheesy Crackers

 Ingredients

2 sticks butter, softened, in half-inch cubes

8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, in half-inch cubes

2 c. Rice Krispies

2 c. flour

½ t salt

cayenne pepper or paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet or cover it with parchment paper.

Cream the cheese and butter in a food processor. Stop several times to scrape down the sides.

Add the flour, cereal, and salt, and mix. 

Lightly flour your hands and roll the dough into into walnut-sized balls. Flatten with a wet fork on cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with cayenne or paprika. 

Bake for about fifteen minutes until the edges and bottoms are light brown.

If serving to those outside your bubble, use tongs and serve onto a cocktail napkin. Enjoy!

Readers: What's your favorite holiday appetizer or snack?

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My most recent book is Candy Slain Murder, the eighth Country Store mystery. You guessed it, the story takes place at Christmas. As with all my books written as Maddie Day, you'll find easy recipes in the back.

I hope you'll visit Edith Maxwell and me on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.