Spicy Cheese Crackers

These crackers are delicious. Really, really good. Buttery, spicy, cheesy and not a bit sweet. I’m a bit burned out on sugar, to be honest. After all those Christmas cookies and that amazing cobbler, I needed to change it up a bit.



I agree with Clotilde who said they are like cheese shortbread. Dry, crumbly, spicy shortbread. I’m sure you could make them look nicer than mine if you rolled the dough out and use a pretty cutter, but I hate rolling out dough, so I just made it into a log and cut slices.



These practically no time at all, especially if you do it in the food processor. I think they’d be perfect with soup, maybe Chili. Try them out!



Cheese Crackers

Adapted from here and here

1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces

3/4 cup flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon half-and-half (I used cream, because it’s what I had)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a food processor, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt, paprika and red pepper in five 5-second pulses until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the half-and-half and process until the dough forms a ball, about 10 seconds. (you could also use a pastry blender and do it by hand)

Shape the dough into a log or whatever sliceable shape strikes your fancy, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm enough to be easily sliced, about an hour, and up to a day. (You can speed things up by placing the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes instead.)
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Remove the dough from the fridge, slice it thinly and arrange the slices on the prepared sheet (they will expand a little, so give them just a bit of elbow room). You will need to work in batches; return the dough to the fridge between batches.

Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, depending on your oven and the thickness of your slices, until golden. Let the cheese thins rest on the baking sheet for a minute before transferring them to a cooling rack.