The moment you take the yummy dip out of the fridge and reach for the box of crackers and to your surprise — nada! Ugh. And that instant rotted feeling comes over you followed by, “what now?”
It was at that moment I wondered… can you make homemade crackers?
I broke out Google and voila! It didn’t take me long to come across a recipe that made my taste buds dance — rosemary cheese crackers for the win. It was probably the cheese that won me over.
“Life is great. Cheese makes it better.” – Avery Aames
At first, I thought I was cracked and in for a long and tedious process. To my surprise, that wasn’t the case at all. Aside from having to wait for the dough to set in the fridge, crackers aren’t hard to make at all. I may stretch if further to say it’s kind of fool proof.
What do you need? Break out six ounces of extra old cheddar cheese (grated), two ounces of parmesan cheese (grated), half a stick of unsalted softened butter, one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of rosemary, one cup of all-purpose flour and two tablespoons of ice water.
Make sure your blender is handy as you are going to put everything but the flour and ice water in at once. Mix until you get a soft texture, then add the flour. The recipe I used had a great description for this part. You want to blend the flour until it looks like tiny, dry pebbles. I know it is an odd description but the end result honestly looks like wee pebbles. Once that’s done, pour the ice water in and mix for another few minutes until you end up with a stiff mixture.
Take the dough out and separate it into two chunks. Form them into a disc shape and cover in plastic wrap or environmentally friendly wrap. Then, place them in the fridge for an hour.
Come to think of it, cracker dough is kind of like a blank canvas. You can mix in just about anything you want. Think about what’s inside your favourite crackers. There’s everything from different types of cheese, spice, seeds, salt, pepper and herbs.
OK, back to making this cheesy rosemary goodness. As you wait for the dough to set, preheat your oven to 375 and break out your favourite cookie cutters. Yes, you heard me right. Think about the kind of shape you want for your crackers. When the dough is ready, roll it out to the thickness you desire and start cutting your crackers.
“You are the boss of that dough.” – Julia Child
Tip: Before you bake them, poke a small hole(s) in the centre of the dough. This will prevent them from getting puffy while baking in the oven.
Place them on parchment paper and bake for about 10 minute or until they are golden brown. When ready, take them out of the oven to cool off and harden.
I’m new to making homemade crackers but so far they have kept for about a week. I will say, you need not worry, as they will be devoured in no time at all.
The only thing I found with homemade crackers is the thicker the dough, the softer the cracker. So, if you like crispy, crunchy crackers make sure you roll them out super thin.
Rolling out the dough is probably the most challenging part. At one point, I thought I made it too thin when, in fact, I could have rolled it out to half the thickness. Unless, that is, you enjoy a softer cracker. Perhaps you can test it out with the two discs. Do one super, duper thin and the other thicker to see which one you prefer.
“If we’re not meant to have a midnight snack, why is there a light in the fridge?” – Unknown
I served my homemade cheesy rosemary crackers with tzatiki dip – scrumptious! The next time you grab for that non-existent box of crackers in the cupboard, think about grabbing for the flour. Homemade crackers are defiantly fit to eat.
Happy baking, foodie friends.
Erin Sulley is a self-confessed foodie who lives in Mount Pearl. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @ErinSulley. Instagram: @erinsulley
