Cheese & Rosemary Shortbread Crackers

Today's post is one of the simplest and quickest savory snack crackers that were a lovely complement to the Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Soup that I made last weekend.  I discovered this recipe on Style at Home.com,  The only change I made to the original recipe was that I used a Quattro Formaggio blend of shredded cheese, instead of white cheddar.  If there had been white cheddar in my fridge, I would have used it. The four-cheese blend, that I buy at Trader Joe's has Fontina, Asiago, Parmesan and Mild Provolone cheese.

Fortunately, we have a healthy rosemary bush in our yard. I chopped a couple of sprigs of rosemary to equal about two teaspoons.  Thyme would be a nice substitute, too.

In a bowl, I measured about 1-1/4 cups of shredded cheese. To that I added 3/4 cup of unbleached flour, 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of coarse salt.

...and 1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard

I also decided to kick up the flavor with a pinch of Cayenne....

...and then the finely chopped rosemary.

You need a stick of softened unsalted butter. Yes, one stick. (That's why homemade crackers taste so good).  You can use a hand-mixer, your own hands if you wish. I use my stand mixer, because it makes my life a little easier. I need that, because of my crazy work schedule!

Begin, by beating the butter until smooth.  Now add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter...

..and gently blend until combined.   You don't want to overbeat it!

 That's good...

Next, tear a large piece of plastic wrap....

Dump the dough onto the plastic wrap and pat the dough together...

...and start to shape the dough into a log.  I'm going for an oblong shape. Round is good, too.

Chill this for at least two hours, but you can make these a few days ahead.  I took a shortcut and popped the dough into the freezer for an hour. Preheat the oven to 325F. 

 

Slice the log into 1/4-inch rounds (or oblongs.. or squares) and place rounds 2 inches apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. 

 Bake on the middle rack of oven until cookies are lightly golden around the edges, about 20 to 22 minutes.

Be prepared for the aroma of cheese, and savory goodness!

Allow them to cool completely. If you can.

VERDICT:  These are super easy to make.  If you hoard cheeses as much as I do, you can switch around different blends to create your own combination that you like best.  The crackers are very tender, though. They're not as dense as other crackers I've tried.  I'd describe these are resembling Parmesan Crisps.  In other words, I'm not 100% sure that these crackers are dense enough to support slathering cream cheese and red pepper jelly on them-- which is one of my biggest indulgences.  Still, these disappeared very fast. They're addicting, I promise you.  They are buttery, and the cheese gave a nutty and salty flavor.  The rosemary was subtle and the cayenne added a subtle heat. My family kept filching them, include Yours Truly.  My co-workers enjoyed them.  

...and they are kind of cute as a soup garnish.

The printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.  I'm making this short and sweet, because I'm feeling as though a cold might be trying to get the better of me.  Hopefully, with some rest, I can get started with my own Thanksgiving prep work-- and I hope to upload some more recipes I made last week.

One more week until Turkey and all the fixin's. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!