HATTIE'S GOAT CHEESE TORTA

WALK TO SCHOOL COOKIES

from Susan Hattie Steinsapir, amended by B. Keith Ryder

from Sherry Kenney
Pack these in your kids lunchbox, and he'll eat them all on the "walk to school".

4 oz goat cheese
6 oz cream cheese
Garlic, peeled, smashed, and chopped
(I usually put in lots and more, at least 8 cloves.
It's up to you.)
1/2 cup pesto (at least)
1/2 cup finely chopped, oil-packed sun-dried
tomatoes,  including 1 - 2 tsp. of the marinade
Fresh herbs, thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley,
--whatever to garnish.
Mix goat cheese and cream cheese, add the garlic. Check the taste. Add salt and black pepper if you want.
Line a small glass bowl (about 2 - 3 cups -- I use a ramekin) with plastic wrap. Put about  1/3 of the goat cheese mix into the bowl. Top this with the pesto. Put another 1/3 of the goat cheese mix on top of this. Put  the sun-dried tomatoes on this. Top with the rest of the cheese. Put  plastic wrap over the top of this. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and up to four days. 
To serve, invert bowl on a serving dish. Carefully remove the plastic wrap. Decorate with herbs.  Serve with baguette rounds. Keep out of the way of the devouring mob. Supposed to serve up to 20 - 25 with other hors d'oevres.

3 cups butter  (or 2-to-1 Butter/Crisco)
2 cups sugar
1 TBSP. Vanilla
1½ cups Grape-nuts® cereal
5½-6 cups all purpose flour
Additional sugar    (powdered, granulated, brownulated, etc.)
Let butter warm to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350°.
I recommend using a large stand mixer with a 4½-5 Qt bowl capacity (this makes a LOT of cookie dough)
Cream butter.  Gradually add sugar.  Beat butter/sugar mixture until very light and fluffy.  Mix in vanilla.  Add Grape-nuts® and mix well.
Add flour one cup at a time and mix just until blended.  (The dough should be relatively firm & dry: you should be able to scoop some out and roll it into a ball that will hold it's shape and not leave your hands all wet and sticky.)  If you don't have a stand mixer, you may need to add the last of the flour in by hand.
Shape dough into 1"-1½" balls (I use a cookie scoop, and get 7 dozen).
Roll balls of dough in additional sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Small size balls of dough can be left round, or for larger size balls of dough, press gently with a fork, being careful not to flatten too much.  These don't spread much in the oven, so I can usually fit 20 to a standard cookie sheet.
Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.  (Do not wait on cookies to brown, this is a pale cookie.)
Cool for at least 30 minutes before handling (an hour is preferable if you have enough cooling racks).

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