Cheese cracker / biscuit / crackits (updated)
I usually try to make pepperoni rolls for our neighborhood potluck, but I’ve never been happy with the way they turn out and I thought I would try something different this year. I made a variation of these cheese crackers. It was my first attempt at making something like this. They were quite tasty, but more like thin cheese biscuits than crackers – maybe crackits. ;-) I probably didn’t make them thin enough before baking (the dough stuck to my rolling pin, so I ended up using my hands to smash the dough flat).
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Spicy Cheese Crackits
Makes ~ 50 each ~ 2-inch diameter thick bisucit/crackers
Preheat oven to 400F. Take eggs, milk, butter, cheese out of refrigerator.
rectangular metal baking sheet
silicone baking sheet
plastic cutting board (or equivalent)
rolling pin
~ 2-inch diameter glass
fork
16 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese. Grated coarsely.
2 cup all-purpose flour,1 cup whole wheat 2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon “Mrs Dash” salt-free spices (or equivalent)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 stick (4 oz) salted butter
2 egg yolks (large, warmed to near room temperature), beaten
1 cup milk (2%)
table salt
Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.
Cut butter into flour with table knives, then use metal whisk to chop butter into grain-size pieces (~ 1-2 min).
Mix shredded cheddar cheese into flour+butter mixture, form into a rough uniform mixture.
Mix egg yolks until smooth, then add milk and mix well.
Add egg+milk mixture to dry mixture, mix by hand and make sure all of the dry ingredients are wet.
Turn dough out onto cutting board and kneed until well mixed, and becomes easy to handle (a few minutes)
Cover dough, refrigerate 30 min.
Remove dough, form into a smooth ball, cut off ~ 1/4 of dough, roll flat and try to flatten to less than 1/8-inch thick.
Cut with glass to desired size, place on silicone sheet on baking sheet ~ 1/4-inch apart.
Continue rolling dough and cutting into desired shape until the Crackits cover the available space.
Poke Crackits with fork to help minimize ballooning of the snacks.
Sprinkle with a few grains of table salt (to taste)
Bake at 400F until the tops just begin to darken (~ 15 minutes).
Remove from oven, let rest briefly, then remove from silicone sheet to cool.
Enjoy while warm!
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They are wonderful when they’re still warm, very flavorful and a little chewy, with a little bit of “heat” from the cayenne pepper a few seconds after chewing on them.
When they cool, they’re not “cracker-y”, and they’re not quite as good as when warm. The bottom half of the Crackit, especially, is quite chewy. Perhaps shredding the cheese finer, making the dough even thinner, and maybe increasing the flour-to-cheese ratio will make them more cracker-like.
I’ll probably try making them again. If anyone has suggestions for modifications, especially what to do to make them more cracker-y (they're a little soggy when cool), please let me know.
[edit:] I made another batch (a half batch) tonight. Increasing the flour from 1.5 cups (1 cup AP, 1/2 cup AP) to 2 cups (1 cup AP, 1 cup WW) made them much more cracker-like than the original version. J suggested using all AP flour (instead of half WW) might improve the texture. I'll try that next time. I'll probably add a little more cayenne pepper too.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
===
Spicy Cheese Crackits
Makes ~ 50 each ~ 2-inch diameter thick bisucit/crackers
Preheat oven to 400F. Take eggs, milk, butter, cheese out of refrigerator.
rectangular metal baking sheet
silicone baking sheet
plastic cutting board (or equivalent)
rolling pin
~ 2-inch diameter glass
fork
16 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese. Grated coarsely.
2 cup all-purpose flour,
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon “Mrs Dash” salt-free spices (or equivalent)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 stick (4 oz) salted butter
2 egg yolks (large, warmed to near room temperature), beaten
1 cup milk (2%)
table salt
Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.
Cut butter into flour with table knives, then use metal whisk to chop butter into grain-size pieces (~ 1-2 min).
Mix shredded cheddar cheese into flour+butter mixture, form into a rough uniform mixture.
Mix egg yolks until smooth, then add milk and mix well.
Add egg+milk mixture to dry mixture, mix by hand and make sure all of the dry ingredients are wet.
Turn dough out onto cutting board and kneed until well mixed, and becomes easy to handle (a few minutes)
Cover dough, refrigerate 30 min.
Remove dough, form into a smooth ball, cut off ~ 1/4 of dough, roll flat and try to flatten to less than 1/8-inch thick.
Cut with glass to desired size, place on silicone sheet on baking sheet ~ 1/4-inch apart.
Continue rolling dough and cutting into desired shape until the Crackits cover the available space.
Poke Crackits with fork to help minimize ballooning of the snacks.
Sprinkle with a few grains of table salt (to taste)
Bake at 400F until the tops just begin to darken (~ 15 minutes).
Remove from oven, let rest briefly, then remove from silicone sheet to cool.
Enjoy while warm!
===
They are wonderful when they’re still warm, very flavorful and a little chewy, with a little bit of “heat” from the cayenne pepper a few seconds after chewing on them.
When they cool, they’re not “cracker-y”, and they’re not quite as good as when warm. The bottom half of the Crackit, especially, is quite chewy. Perhaps shredding the cheese finer, making the dough even thinner, and maybe increasing the flour-to-cheese ratio will make them more cracker-like.
I’ll probably try making them again. If anyone has suggestions for modifications, especially what to do to make them more cracker-y (they're a little soggy when cool), please let me know.
[edit:] I made another batch (a half batch) tonight. Increasing the flour from 1.5 cups (1 cup AP, 1/2 cup AP) to 2 cups (1 cup AP, 1 cup WW) made them much more cracker-like than the original version. J suggested using all AP flour (instead of half WW) might improve the texture. I'll try that next time. I'll probably add a little more cayenne pepper too.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
