By Angela McRae, The Shopper Kitchen
So I’m sure you’ve heard that a royal wedding is coming up this month. I wouldn’t miss it.
I got up early to turn on the telly for the weddings of Lady Diana Spencer to the Prince of Wales and Lady Sarah Ferguson to Prince Andrew. Fast-forward a few years, and I was again up before dawn to watch Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton, so naturally I plan to watch Prince Harry’s wedding to Ms. Meghan Markle on May 19.
I had friends over for a breakfast celebration the morning of Prince William’s wedding, and I’ll be having a viewing party again in honor of Prince Harry’s. I’ve been preparing for it for years. Shortly after William and Kate’s wedding, I came across some lovely Union Jack cupcake papers, and I tucked them away in my pantry for Prince Harry’s wedding.
It will be fun to view another royal wedding, and I’ll no doubt be glued to my TV and laptop all weekend. Weddings have sure changed since Harry’s mother got married. (If you happen to be a Princess Diana fan, check out the book “A Dress for Diana” by David Emanuel and Elizabeth Emanuel. It goes into glorious detail about one of the world’s most iconic wedding gowns, one that many of us locals had the pleasure of seeing when it was on display in Atlanta a few years ago.)

Most weddings don’t quite measure up to Charles and Diana’s 1981 royal wedding, though. A friend of mine recently reminded me that a simple Southern church wedding in the eighties often had a light menu of cake, pimiento cheese sandwiches, mints, and that staple of Southern gatherings, cheese straws.
Is there a Southern celebration at which a cheese straw wouldn’t be welcome? From weddings to birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, who wouldn’t be happy to eat a cheese straw?
But I’ve never been handy at making the pretty cheese straw “ribbons” that some bakers produce. Instead, I found a recipe for these Cheese Wafers in the cookbook “Kitchen Delights” published by the Historic Waco Foundation in Texas. I’ve seen similar recipes, but only this one has a magic ingredient you might not have come across in a cheese straw before— Rice Krispies.
These Cheese Wafers might not be on the menu come May 19, but I promise you, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle would be lucky indeed if they were.
Cheese Wafers Recipe
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 2 sticks butter or margarine, melted
• 2 cups Rice Krispies
• Dash of Tabasco sauce, or to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, cheese, salt and cayenne. Add butter, Rice Krispies and Tabasco sauce. Roll into one-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets.
Press flat using a fork dipped in flour. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until wafers begin to brown around the edges. Yields about 4 dozen cheese wafers. Wafers may be frozen if desired.
(Angela McRae is a freelance writer and editor from Newnan, and you can find out more about her work at angelamcrae.com. Email questions and comments to her at [email protected].)