Parmesan Cheese and Rosemary Crackers

Last Thursday my husband requested a savoury bake for his office charity bake sale, but as I spent most of last week coughing and sneezing on the sofa wrapped up in a woolen blanket, the last thing I wanted to do was to stand up in my kitchen and bake. I needed a quick and easy recipe.

I turned to my favourite cookbook, the Smitten Kitchen, which never fails to provide exactly the recipe I am looking for at any time! Seriously, both the blog and this book are my go-to sources for baking recipes and I cannot wait for Deb’s new cookbook to come out!

These Parmersan and Rosemary Crackers are one of the easiest things you could bake. To make the pastry all you need to do is mix all the ingredients together (or let a food processor mix them for you) and refrigerate.

The biscuit-making part is as easy (though slightly more time-consuming): roll the pastry into a flat square, cut with a pastry wheel, transfer to baking tray, bake. Simple.

The result? Crispy and cheesy crackers with a delicious hint of rosemary. They are perfect for an apertif or dinner party, so if you are planning to throw a Halloween party this weekend, these will make great snacks to impress your guests.

The original recipe is with gruyere cheese and I replaced it with Parmesan. Any mature cheese would work well here.

Ingredients

Yield: about 90-100 small biscuits

• 170g Parmesan cheese, coarsely grated
• 60g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• 95g plain flour, plus more for the counter
• 2 stalks fresh rosemary, chopped finely
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, pulsing until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Using your hand, gather the mixture together into a ball, flatten it onto a square and wrap it in cling film. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

On a floured counter, roll out the dough to about 3mm thickness.

Cut the dough into a large grid using a fluted pastry wheel. Make 2.5cm diamonds and prick each crackers in the centre with a skewer. Dab lightly with water and – if you want – sprinkle salt on top. I found the crackers to be too salty, so I won’t sprinkle the extra salt next time.

Transfer the crackers onto a lined baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Store in airtight containers.