I like to make a splash with holiday hors d’oeuvres. Step out of the ordinary. Conjure up the unexpected. There is nothing more wonderful. Nothing more special than freshly baked homemade crackers. These are a snap to make. A double dose of sharp cheese makes addictive crackers then don’t even need a topping. Just whip up a handful of ingredients. Pop them in the freezer and slice off rounds whenever you want to serve freshly baked crackers.
They may seem like the last thing you have time for during the holidays but the dough for these savory slice-and-bake comes together in minutes. Make a batch or double the recipe for a bigger stash. You won’t regret it.
Dear friends, you know how I love to gild the lily. These crackers take beautifully to hits of hot red pepper jelly or pungent blue cheese. A little Brie or Gouda topped with a wafer thin slice of Granny Smith apple would go down treat.
Serve your wondrous cracker creations with glass of bubbly on New Year’s Eve. You’ll be the toast of the town!
| CHEDDAR-AND-GRUYERE CRACKERS | Print |
- 1 cup (4¼ oz) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
- ½ tsp poppy seeds plus more for topping
- 2 tbs (1 oz.) cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- ½ cup (2 oz) FINELY grated sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ cup (2 oz) FINELY grated Gruyere
- ¼ cup (or more) whole milk
- ¼ tsp Dijon mustard.
- Whisk together milk and mustard and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt and poppy seeds.
- Work in butter with fingers until crumbly.
- Add the cheeses and mix with your fingers, breaking apart any clumps of cheese.
- Stir in the milk into the flour mixture with a fork until dough comes together.. Depending on the humidity you may require a little more milk to completely bind the mixture together.
- Shape the dough into a 2-inch-wide log.
- Wrap in the plastic and gently roll back and forth to shape it.
- Refrigerate for about 30 minutes then freeze for 1 hour or up to 3 months. If your crackers have been in the freezer for any lengthy time allow the frozen dough to stand at room temperature for around 30 minutes or so before slicing.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Cut log into ⅛-inch-thick rounds and arrange on parchment lined baking sheets.
- Sprinkle with poppy seeds.
- Bake rotating sheets front to back once until edges are golden, 14 to 16 minutes. You want the crackers to be on the crispy sides so do not underbake.
- Let crackers cool on a wire rack.
