Recipe information
Yield
Makes about 100 pinwheels
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
In a food processor blend the flour, the salt, the Cheddar, and the butter until the mixture resembles meal. With the motor running add 5 tablespoons of the water and blend the mixture, adding more water if necessary, until it just forms a dough. (Do not overblend the dough.) Transfer the dough to a sheet of wax paper and halve it. With the motor running drop the garlic into the food processor and mince it. Turn off the motor, add the parsley and the walnuts, and blend them until they are chopped coarse. Add half the dough, reserving the other half, chilled, and blend the mixture, scraping down sides, until the parsley mixture is distributed evenly throughout the dough. Pat half the parsley dough into a 7- by 5-inch rectangle on a sheet of wax paper, reserving the other half, top it with another sheet of wax paper, and roll it into a 12- by 7-inch rectangle. Transfer the dough in the wax paper to a baking sheet and chill it for 10 minutes, or until it is firm but flexible. Repeat the rolling and chilling procedure with half of the reserved plain cheese dough.
Step 2
Discard the top sheet of wax paper from the plain cheese dough and arrange the parsley dough, unwrapped, on top, pressing the 2 layers together lightly with the rolling pin. Using the bottom sheet of wax paper as a guide and beginning with a long side, roll the dough tightly together jelly-roll fashion (if the doughs are too firm to roll easily, let them stand at room temperature until they are pliable) and chill the roll, wrapped well, for at least 1 hour or overnight. Repeat the entire procedure with the remaining reserved parsley and plain cheese doughs. The dough rolls may be made 1 week in advance and kept covered tightly and chilled.
Step 3
Unwrap the rolls and cut them crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Bake the pinwheels in batches on greased baking sheets in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are golden, transferring them as they are baked to racks, and let them cool.
