O.K. gang, I think I solved the "dry dough" problem that many seemed to have. First of all, I MAY have used a little more than two tablespoons of butter, but definitely no more than three. My butter was a little squished from greasing a cake pan so it was hard to tell exactly how much it was. However, the secret is to mix everything in a food processor. My dough came off the sides of the bowl and formed a perfect moist ball and it couldn't have been any easier to work with. I hope this helps. My oldest daughter thought these were fantastic and my hubby and younger daughter thought they were just O.K. I loved them. I used both green and black olives. The black olives were huge, so I stuffed them with a little salami. Will definitely make these again!

I have been making a version of this recipe for years, and it is always a hit at parties. My recipe calls for 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar, 1 1/4 cups flour, 1 stick margarine or butter (melted), and about 36 pimiento-stuffed green olives (drain and pat dry with a paper towel; amt. of olives used will vary depending on how much dough you wrap around each). I don't use any cayenne. Mix the cheese and flour, then mix in the margarine, working the dough with your hands if it seems dry. Mold approx. 1 tsp. dough around each olive; refrigerate wrapped olives at least 1 hour before baking. (I often refrigerate overnight.) Bake @ 400 20 minutes or until golden. I promise you, everyone will love these - I have never taken them to a party or shower without requests for the recipe, and people specifically ask me to bring them to events! They've even converted a few former olive-haters... :-)

These were a HUGE hit at my holiday gatherings. I made a DOUBLE BATCH on two seperate occasions and had no leftovers. I did not have any problem getting my dough to stick together, but I DID use my mixer. I started with my whisk-style beaters to blend everything, then when the dough started to stick together I put on my dough hook and kept mixing until it was a smooth ball of dough. I also found if I use a small 1 tablespoon-size scoop (like ice cream scoop) to spoon out the dough, I had nice, even-sized appetizers. This was the perfect amount of dough to wrap around the larger "Queen" size green olives. Both times I prepared these in advance and froze them. When I was ready to bake them, I just took them out of freezer and baked for 1-2 additional minutes, till they were golden. Oh, one other thing - I served these warm by keeping them in my crockpot with the lid off and they WERE WONDERFUL.

I've made these so many times I practically have the recipe memorized because we love these! Like other reviewers, I also had the "dry dough" problem, but my solution was to add some olive juice/brine to the dough. It makes it moist (without extra butter!) and easy to shape onto the olives. Just make sure that you don't add too much "juice" or the dough gets slippery. These were a hit at a Christmas party and people still talk about them even now! The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is for how time consuming these are, but they taste so good!!

These are quick to make and very tasty, but the recipe does need some work. First, you must add more butter, I've made these several times and always end up adding two additional tablespoons of butter. I also melt it, to make mixing easier. Also tasty with a shot of worcestershire sauce.

The ingredient list for this recipe is just fine; it's the method that's jacked! I read everyone's really helpful reviews (I love this site) and I made it the following way to total perfection: First, just double the recipe. Pulse the 1 cup of flour and 4 tbls COLD butter together in the food processor until it achieves a crumb texture. Add the cheese and pulse. Then stream in about a 1/4 cup of ice cold water until it comes together. It makes a perfect consistency. Then, drain your olives very well and toss them with a little flour. After that, it's a BREEZE to cover the olives. Like someone else mentioned, just make a flat disc of dough and squish it around the olive. This is a winner! The dough is basically cheese straw dough!

Very unique flavor - I added a bit of extra virgin olive oil and water to the batter which worked fantastically to hold the mixture to the olive.

Really enjoyed these. Make sure the dough is cold before baking so it doesn't spread as much. I'll definately make these again.

These olives are really quite good. They're a bit time consuming to make, and if you need to make a lot for a party its tough because they go so fast. The prep of the ingredients isn't bad its getting the dough to stay around the olive and wrapping each one. My guests have always found the effort to be well worth it, and absolutely love them.

This recipe has a lot of potential, but needed tinkering. I had to add butter to bind the dough. Most of my guests left the olive and just ate the dough - I might try cocktail weiners or meatballs for the filling next time.