parmsean cream crackers

Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen

Now I am not totally sure how healthy these crackers really are. They were a hit when I made them last. I have been just hanging on to this post for a frigid day where it would up lift some spirits. How can a recipe for Parmesan cream crackers up lift your spirit you ask? Well, knowing that there is not a whole lot of "stuff" or "junk" in these certainly made me happier.

These lovely little crackers have a total of 5 ingredients in them and that is the beauty of them. There is no glutamate steroid sulfate or something else that seems made up like I just made up that word except it's real and its scary.

The ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese

4 tbs of unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup of heavy cream or half-and-half

....and that is it !! It's a beautiful thing when you can pull something so simple together with 5 ingredients and under. Also, when you can do it and it seems effortless all the better.

Combine all your ingredients except the cream in your food processor. Pulse it until it comes together into a mealy dough.

Then a little bit at a time add your cream until you see the dough begin to form. Or when the magic begins to happen.

Then roll out your dough on a floured countertop until it is about 1/8 of inch thick or so. Don't panic if it's not totally level all over or exactly an 1/8 of inch thick. They will be perfect no matter what you do.

Then find some way to cut them up. I had a fancy potato slicer to make neat hashbrowns with and I thought at the time it would work and I was pleasantly surprised for sure. Whatever you use whether its a pizza roller, pastry cutter, or just a knife take your time and work carefully so the crackers come out relatively the same size.

Then arrange your un-cooked crackers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes or until they become golden brown.

Take out these golden beauties and cool them on a cooling rack until they are completely cool to the touch.

Serve up with your favorite cheese, cheese ball, cheese wedge, cheese spread or pack them up for lunches for the week.

This will take you a total of 30 minutes to make if you go really slow. Taking a few moments to make something you know exactly what the ingredients are can give you a sincere sense of accomplishment. Give a test drive !!! It's not any hard than that, silly ...

Enjoy !!!