Cheddar Cayenne Coins

Cheddar Cayenne Coins
6 oz. all-purpose flour
3 oz. finely shredded sharp Cheddar
1 Tbs salt
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. cayenne
4 oz. unsalted butter, cut into cubes, chilled
1 large egg yolk
2 Tbs water
1.5 oz. finely chopped walnuts


Combine flour, cheese, salt, and cayenne in a food processor. Process until just blended. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the dough resembles coarse crumbs. Stir the yolk and water together with a fork and drizzle over the mixture. Pulse until the dough begins to form small moist crumbs. Add the chopped nuts and pulse briefly until the crumbs begin to come together.
Pile the moist crumbs on an un-floured surface. With the heel of your hand, push and smear the crumbs until they start to come together in a cohesive dough. Shape into a 14" long log that's 1.25 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours, or up to two days.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment. Using a thin, sharp knife, cut the log into scant 1/4 inch slices. Arrange about 1/2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until medium to deep golden around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets as needed for even baking. Cool on a rack. When completely cook, store in an airtight container.


Bench Notes: I have no idea why I got this from, but, thanks to Google, I now know. Apparently from Fine Cooking. I've been making these since 2008 and really love the flavor and texture of these little crackers, You can also use a mix of half Parmesan and half Cheddar, but I prefer the straight up Cheddar. Mine are never coins, they end up squares, but they still taste good. They can be a bit salty, so I often cut back on the salt.
Round Two of the cracker challenge....  This is Round One of the cracker challenge here. 

Blue Cheese Shortbread

Blue Cheese Shortbread


3 1/2 oz crumbled blue cheese (about 1/2 cup)
3T unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped


Blend blue cheese and butter in food processor until creamy. Add flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add walnuts and process just until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball. Flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least an hour.

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment. Roll out dough between two sheets of plastic wrap to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness. Remove top sheet, cut using cookie cutter shapes or just cut into squares. Transfer to baking sheet, bake until golden brown about 20 minutes. Cool. Store in airtight container.

Bench Notes: These are easy easy crackers to make. I do let the dough chill more than an hour - usually over night. Made this the first time in August of 2003. How old am I? 

Cheddar-Parmesan Crackers

Yield: 3 dozen crackers, serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

4 ounces cheddar, coarsely grated

2 ounces Parmesan, finely grated

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

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

2 tablespoons water, plus more if needed

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor, place all ingredients except the butter and water. Pulse 5 times. Add the butter and pulse again until the butter pieces are the size of BBs. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse just until the dough holds together. If the dough is still crumbly, add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the right consistency.

Turn the dough out onto a large piece of waxed paper. Roll the dough into a log, 9 to 10 inches long, and square off the ends. Refrigerate, well wrapped, for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. Or freeze it for up to 1 month. (You may want to cut the log in half or in thirds to freeze if you think you will want to defrost a smaller amount at a time.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

To make the crackers, cut the log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet 1-inch apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the crackers are a light golden color. Turn the crackers and bake for 3 to 5 more minutes, or until they are golden around the edges. Cool on a rack. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe courtesy Laura Werlin, via Sara's Secrets

Comments from the Counter: These are the best cheddar crackers ever and I have made them since 2006.

Still having issues with temperature and time – not sure what to do, but the old oven may be part of the problem – it burned at 375 degrees in the old oven, but this one is better, I think.

I use more cayenne - it gives a nice heat at the end of the cracker taste - very good. Heaping 1/4 tsp of both mustard and cayenne.

Not this time, but previously I have made these after freezing them - just as good and nice to have on hand. 

These are truly the best cheese cracker in my extensive repertoire -- I mean if you have a section 2" thick in your recipe binder just for cheese crackers ... probably not stable mentally, but you have some damn good crackers.