Talk about high reward for no work!
These are simply savory shortbread cookies, and the six ingredients pack a really flavorful punch. My only issue was that the dough was a bit too crumbly to be able to roll into a log—twice. I’m always hesitant to add water to shortbread dough and sacrifice some of the crumbliness, but I had to scoop the bits back into the mixer twice and I ended up adding close to a tablespoon of ice-cold H2O to get the dough to even remotely stick together. Once I managed to get it into a log, though, all I had to do was refrigerate, slice and bake. Doesn’t get much easier
With their rich, cheesy, herbacious flavor and that soft buttery crumble, I’d love to keep this dough in the freezer to have on hand so I could bake it off for impromptu cocktails. David called these the ideal cocktail munchies — especially with some thin-sliced Parma, good olives and a nice glass of Prosecco. Yum!
Parmesan & Thyme Crackers
From Ina Garten, © 2006
Ingredients
- 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 3 ounces grated Parmesan
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until creamy. Add the Parmesan, flour, salt, thyme and pepper and combine.
Dump the dough on a lightly floured board and roll into a 13-inch long log. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to harden.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut the log crosswise into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices. Place the slices on a sheet pan and bake for 22 minutes.
Makes 30-36 crackers