It's Pizza (cracker) time!
Happy Friday! A while back I stopped buying snacks at the store. Looking at some of the ingredients simply made me ill. Half of the crap the put in to the processed food was chemicals to make them stay fresh longer, to make them crisper, or some even to make them taste like the fruit or vegetable they were supposed to be made of. I like a salty snack every once in a while. After a little searching I ran across this cheese cracker recipe. My wife and I decided to modify it to give it a little Italian twist. I think it taste a bit like pizza, but let me know what you think :)
Pizza Crackers Cowabunga
Ingredients:
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (approx. 2 cups)
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1tbsp. lard
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground dried rosemary
3/4 tsp. ground dried oregano
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. fine semolina flour
1. In a large bowl beat cheese, butter, and lard with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes or until fluffy. On a reduced mixer speed, mix in all other ingredients EXCEPT flour.
Using a rubber spatula, stir in the flour 1/2 cup at a time until combined to form a dough. (dough should be a bit dryer than normal pie dough.)
2. Turn dough out onto a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and shape it into a 1 inch diameter log. Twist ends of the parchment or plastic wrap to seal. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (overnight is even better)
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Remove dough from refrigerator, unwrap, and place on a cutting board. Cut the log into 1/8 inch thick slices and place on the prepared baking sheet 1/4 inch apart.
5. Bake for about 7 minutes (but keep any eye on them about 5 minutes in, due to the high fat content, they get hot pretty quick, so you have to be very careful that they don't burn.) They should be light golden brown. Transfer from pan to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
Stored in an airtight container at room temperature they should be good for up to a week. Though I can't say for certain, as they never last that long around here.
Gone already?! Oh, Shellshock!
So, if this sounds like something for you give them a try and let me know in the comments what you think and how they turn out for you.
And as always, please be sure to recommend!
