Time to make crackers, or go crackers

I have a good old recipe from the Penzeys website. Haven't made crackers in quite a while. I liked them from this recipe the last time.

Crispy Cheese Crackers
These melt-in-your-mouth crackers can be cooked up in a flash and served warm to entertain unexpected guests. Store the dough in the fridge or freezer until the perfect moment arrives–then slice, bake and enjoy.

1 1/4 Cup grated cheddar cheese (I'm using a mix of cheeses: colby and asadero (a white cheese)
1 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 Cup butter (1 stick)
1 tsp. CHIVES (I'm going to use some already diced scallion greens that I keep in the freezer)
1/2 tsp. salt (we used kosher flake salt)
2 TB. SESAME, CARAWAY or POPPY SEED for sprinkling on top of the wafers

We like to freshly grate our own medium to sharp cheddar for this recipe, which is the least expensive and freshest way to go. A bag of shredded cheese works fine, just buy it fresh for the recipe and choose the finer grated pieces.In a large bowl, combine cheese, flour, and butter which has been cut into small chunks. Rub together with your fingers to form a soft dough.

Add the CHIVES and salt about halfway through the mixing process. Once the dough is holding together, roll into a long sausage the same as a roll of sugar cookie dough. Cover the roll snugly with saran wrap and chill until ready to use. The dough does need to chill for at least several hours or it won't slice into nice thin rounds. Preheat oven to 425?. Spray one or two cookie trays well with vegetable oil spray–the crackers can stick and crumble if you don't.

Slice the dough into thin (about 1/8") rounds. Place in rows on the trays, sprinkle with SESAME, POPPY or CARAWAY SEEDS. We use a sprinkle of kosher flake salt on the caraway crackers. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the pans right away with a thin metal spatula. Serve warm or room temperature. I have all three types of seeds as well as fennel seeds. Will try them out.

Prep. time: 15 minutes plus chilling time (It's getting later in the day, I'll chill the dough until tomorrow)
Baking time: 8-10 minutes
Yield: 48 or so thin crackers

Please add your own cracker recipes if you like...


My remark about going crackers is about my feelings about weeding when there can be goat head or sand spurs involved. My own fault for not putting down black plastic like my neighbors do.