Here's a little treat for the adult tricksters, although I'm sure kids of all ages who enjoy nuts will enjoy these too. I used a combination of aged white and yellow cheddar cheeses in these. I also love the suggestion of using blue cheese and pecans as an alternate version - I'll be trying those next.
Crispy and delicious, these are great with cocktails or wine. The dough needs to be refrigerated before baking so this also makes it a perfect 'do ahead' recipe.
Cheddar and Walnut Crackers with Sea Salt
Adapted from Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen (Culinary Institute of America)
Printable Recipe
Yield: About 80-100 small crackers depending on diameter and thickness
4 oz/113 g butter
8 oz/227 g aged Cheddar cheese, grated
6 oz/170 g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp/3 g salt
1/4 tsp/1.5 g cayenne pepper (optional)
2 oz/57 g finely chopped walnuts
Sea salt for sprinkling over crackers
My note: The original recipes calls for 1 teaspoon of salt added to the cracker dough. I reduced that by half because I wanted to sprinkle a little sea salt on the cracker discs just before baking.
Cream the butter; add cheese and mix well. Add the flour and salt and mix well. Blend in the nuts.
Roll out into 3 logs, about 1 1/2 in/4 cm in diameter. Chill at least 1 hour.
Cut into slices 1/8 in/3 mm thick and place on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
Bake at 350°F/175°C for about 8 to 10 minutes until crisp. (In my oven they needed a longer baking time - about 10-12 minutes)
Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container. Serve within 3 days.
Variation: Blue Cheese and Pecan Crackers: Substitute an equal amount of blue cheese for the Cheddar and pecans for the walnuts.
60 comments:
Semplicemente deliziosi!
Un abbraccio da lontano ma, grazie alla nostra passione per la cucina, tanto vicino.
A presto!
Wow, Susan, these sound delectable and melt-in-your-mouth gooood. And I mean gooood with the extra "oh's"!!!! Happy Halloween! xo
Yum! Thanks for sharing the recipe - I am saving it for the holidays.
I love the combination of the cheddar and walnuts, I'd love the pecan the blue, too! Love that bowl you have them displayed in, very pretty picture!
They sound divine, cheddar is awesome in crackers. This reminds me of some crackers I used to buy in NZ
Wow, Susan...these are going into my recipe book. Sounds good to eat! LOL. Hugs
Susan -- these sound and look FANTASTIC!! I love walnuts and am thinking the combo of blue cheese and walnuts would be to my liking :)
Thanks for posting!
Blessings!
Gail
Thanks for not having any hard feelings. I know this, I'll definitely be cruising around over here to help with my holiday menus!
The timing for these crackers could not be better! I am having a house full of 20 something young married couples in a week and a half and they are munchers! Boy will they LOVE these!
Thanks!
Yvonne
Hmmmmmmmmmm - wonderful - love the addition of walnuts - a lovely savory treat :)
Mary x
mamma mia Susan devono essere buonissimi!!!!!!!!!!un abbraccio!
Mmmm! I'll have to give these a try. I like the idea of making the dough ahead of time. Maybe a good idea for my Thanksgiving menu! (I'm planning early this year!) Thanks for sharing the recipe.
-Lynn
What a perfect recipe for the holidays. I will be making these to put out for Thanksgiving! Thank you.
I like the idea of the two cheeses that you used. These are an all time favorite of mine. I've enjoyed catching up with your posts that I missed while on vacation.
I'm loving these. I made something similar from the Barefoot Contessa and they were fabulous. Can't wait to try yours.
Sam
These look wonderful, Susan! Of course, your photos just always draw me right in. You have such a knack for displaying food!!!
Ya gotta love a recipe that starts out with a warning... well, it is Halloween after all:@) They look great and sound amazing Susan, I'm all for grown up treats-enjoy!
I like this idea! Is it like a savory cookie or more like a cracker?
Here's the thing. Now that I made crackers again after many years... I love them... what was I thinking. They are 10,000 times better than storebought.
Beautiful recipe with the cheese and the nuts... I can imagine they will be super addictive... and what's wrong with that... every once in a while!!
I made something similar several years ago for Christmas gifts. I think I am going to try these and take them to school. We love anything savory!
These look and sound wonderful! What a great treat for everyone! Yes, I'll definitely have a problem of stopping at eating just one of these cookies....but I'm so glad I read on. :P Definitely will make some of these goodies soon.
These look delicious and i know I would eat WAY too many.
Wow! The crackers look delicious! I love crackers!
Beautiful Susan, pinning and eating with my eyes only, thanks to your warning! Have a Happy Halloween.
This recipe makes me think I need to start pinning - but I'll just add it to my favorites for now!
I love this sort of thing with a glass of very dry sherry in the afternoon, by the fire.
Can't wait to try these; I do prefer savoury to sweet when it comes to snacking. These really sound perfect.
Rita
They sound to good not to try sometime - we've never made crackers before - at least on purpose.
cheddar and walnuts? Count me in please. That's a combo I can't turn down. Looks really good. This would be a great dish for dinner.
Yum! I can see how they are addictive! Aged cheddar and walnuts - how can you stop eating these?
Oh yum! These actually look just like these Rosemary-Romano Shortbread disks that I make. Those don't have nuts in them, but what a cool idea!
Thank you, all!
LDH, I responded to you by email but it anyone else is interested, yes, they are more like a shortbread cookie in texture. You wouldn't be able to spread anything over these 'crackers' as they would break apart.
And Pondside, I'm right there with you by the fire!
I love these types of crackers! Reminded of one I made from a Gourmet recipe, with blue cheese and pecans; what a treat~
Oh my! This does look addictive! Looks really good! I love shortbread and this would be perfect! Thanks for sharing! Have a lovely Halloween weekend!
I think these would be an awesome addition to our T-Day appetizer tray!
You always come up with the classiest looking appies! I can see where they would be addictive.
You always come up with the classiest looking appies! I can see where they would be addictive.
These would definitely be an addiction! I can imagine they smell fantastic in the oven too.
Gorgeous photos. I am pinning these lovelies.
I literally read your warning at the beginning of your post and almost left the page lol. I cannot feed my cheese addiction anymore.
That being said, I would devour these
Oh I so could gobble these up! I bet the Blue Cheese & Pecan version is melt in your mouth too!
A great idea with a glass of Prosecco,thanks for sharing , a warm hug...
I love a little savory something to munch on when I have a nice glass of wine. The blue cheese and pecan version sounds delish as well. This is a wonderful little snack to have on hand during the holidays.
I love the opening..and I definitely stay for more! They look fabulous!
p.s The duchess potatoes can be made ahead and reheated.
I've always wanted to try homemade crackers!
Happy Halloween!
~Rainey~ @ The Project Table
I do have that "can't eat just one" problem, but I couldn't follow instructions and leave the page. GOT to give these a try. They sound wonderful.
Susan, I know my son will love these on Turkey Day!
Oh my, these sound too good ...lol...and I know I'd eat way too many of them if I made them!
I have a fun give away on my blog, Susan. Come back for another visit!
These sound amazing and just packed with flavour for the chold in all of us this season.
These look and sound delicious...they almost look like shortbread...yummy!
I love making homemade crackers and this looks like an amazing recipe. I will definitely give these a try. Thanks so much for another awesome recipe.
I would, most likely, snack on these,all day. Hey, that would be a good idea.
I have a couple recipes like this and love them! One was made with stilton and they were a bit hit last time I made them. I like yours with walnuts.... and also like the fact you can stick a roll or two of them in the freezer, ready for unexpected company. Great for the holidays.
They sound wonderful, perfect for the holidays!
Sometimes I think I was a mouse in another life, because I could live solely on cheese, and its delicious byproducts, naturally.
Susan, I am making these today. They are perfect for what I have in mind. Oh, the power of cheese!
I do enjoy making crackers especially if the recipe has cheese in it. I'm a cheese lover from way back. Yep, I'm blogging about this today.
These look so good!! What a yummy flavor combo.
These melted in to a big puddle in my oven. What went wrong?
I wish I knew what went wrong for you! Usually, when something doesn't turn out right for me I've either misread or altered the ingredient amounts or didn't follow one of the steps in the directions exactly as written. Did you chill the dough properly before baking?
I love your crackers and bake them quite often, also for Christmas eve - a true adult treat
Thank you very much for letting me know, Pia! We love them too :) Merry Christmas to you.
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