Monday, October 11, 2010

Spooky Triple Cheddar Crackers

Is it really October already? Then I suppose it’s time for some Halloween treats. I wrote and shot this recipe for the October issue of Yum Food & Fun for Kids. Now that the magazine is out I can share these crackers with you.

I gave Kathia from Pink Little Cake first dibs on these cheesy snacks, so you may have already noticed them floating around. She was kind enough to have me as part of her fun filled month of Halloween guest bloggers. If not though, here’s the recipe.

Oh, I almost forgot! I wanted to share that I get to attend Foodbuzz's Festival thanks to Nature's Pride Bread. Thanks for crossing your fingers for me, it must have worked! I can't wait to see all my food blogging friends!

Nature's Pride thank-you thank-you thank-you!

Spooky Triple Cheddar Crackers
Printer Version
Making crackers at home is like magic
and these are the most magic of all as you watch them puff up into cute little Halloween shapes. Cut this recipe into any shape you prefer to enjoy homemade crackers year round.

1 1/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon onion powder
6 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced
8 ounce package shredded triple cheddar cheese, or cheddar of choice
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons water

1. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a food processor pulse together the flour, salt, paprika and onion powder. Add the butter and process until combined. Add the cheddar and pulse until finely chopped. Process in the egg yolk and water until the mixture forms a ball.

3. Remove the dough and knead in your hands for a few turns. Divide in half and roll one part between two pieces of wax paper to 3/8 inch thick. Peel off the wax paper and stamp dough with cookie stamps or cut with cookie cutters. Place the crackers on cookie sheets.

4. Freeze the crackers on the cookie sheets for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Move the cookie sheets to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Cool crackers on cooling racks. Store in an airtight container.

Yields 54 3/8 ounce cookies. Prep time 30 minutes. Baking time 20 minutes.

Recipe & photographs for Yum Kids October 2010 by Laura Flowers.


42 comments:

Tiffiny Felix said...

So cute! I love these *:)* Move over goldfish!

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Spooky, in an adorable kind of way!

:)
ButterYum

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Oh, and congrats on the upcoming trip!

kindred spirit said...

How cool is that...I have never made crackers before. SOunds fun and looks delish.

Take Care!

Susi's Kochen und Backen said...

I love these crackers and the little shapes they are in! I'm so going on the hunt trying to find some little cookie cutters to make those. They would be perfect incorporated into a little fall mix :o)
Congrats on going to the FB festival :o)

Susi's Kochen und Backen said...

Laura, care to share where you found these adorable cookie cutters?

The Cooking Photographer said...

Hi Susi and thank-you!

The cutters are last year's Williams Sonoma Halloween Stamps. I'm guessing they're doing these again, but I don't know.

Laura

scrambledhenfruit said...

Cute crackers! Love your cookie cutters/stamps!

Susi's Kochen und Backen said...

Thanks Laura, I'm checking on them on their site!

Monet said...

My husband loves cheddar crackers (he can easily go through an entire box in one setting!) Needless to say, we would be very happy to make some of our own at home. Thank you for sharing...the shapes are just adorable! I'm going to need to find some Halloween stamps ASAP

S at Buttered Up said...

These look really good. I'm going to bookmark these and make these once my silly broken finger gets fixed. :D

JodieMo said...

These are super cute!! I think me and the kids are going to have to try these out!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Too cute! I really like your first photo. Nice styling, Laura!

Elizabeth said...

Beautiful food styling! I love making cheese crackers for my kids...the effort put in makes me feel like they are good for them because they are homemade! No more Annie's Bunny crackers over here!

Anonymous said...

I've been wanting to make crackers for the kids. I can't wait to try these out.

fittingbackin said...

These are awesome - i've never made my own crackers!

Anonymous said...

That was you? My 8-yo DD had to have that issue, and I can't even count how many times she has thumbed through it. Nicely done! Now I have to find those cookie cutter stamper things.

Kate H.(www.sprinkletherapy.blogspot.com) said...

Those are soo cute! I can't wait to make them! Where did you get your halloween cookie stamps?

Sue said...

So nice to have a savory treat that's cute too! Thanks, Laura!

The Cooking Photographer said...

That was me. I'm so happy to hear your 8 year old likes it! Thank-you!

Laura

shaz said...

Boo-tiful crackers Laura. And congrats that you get to go to the conference, yay!

Mads said...

LOVE these!
I've never made my own crackers, but it would be a really cute gift idea for the holidays.

Bookmarked

Spice Sherpa said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've been wanting to try crackers at home for a long time now. Plus I love the idea of making something fun for Halloween that doesn't involve even more sugar. These are perfect. I may have to experiment with the spices though after trying a purist batch. Thanks again. You're a great photographer.

Anonymous said...

I guess this is what I'm making for Halloween! :)

Mai Overton said...

Congratulations on the trip! This is a fun and creative way to add some joy to the holidays, with cheese of course!

shannon abdollmohammadi said...

Love your pic and post!! Congrats on getting to Foodbuzz Top 9!!!

Katie said...

These are ADORABLE, thanks for sharing!! I only have a very small food processer, which makes doing things like this very difficult. Is there any way around using a procceser?

FamilySpice said...

I've never made crackers before and I think I found my first recipe! Congrats on the trip!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Hi Katie,

Just make these like you do pie crust or biscuits, but cut up the cheese in the food processor with a bit of flour then add it to the mixture.

Laura

The Cooking Photographer said...

I found this year's version of the cutters at Williams Sonoma but after ordering them realized they are huge! Full cookie size. So they won't work for these crackers.

Maybe there are last year's stamps on Ebay? Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Regular small cookie cutters will work too, there just won't be faces on them.


Laura

Unknown said...

Any idea how long these crackers will keep? Trying to do some Halloween Party prep and would love to be able to make these a few days ahead of time. :) Thanks for a cute and wonderful recipe!

The Cooking Photographer said...

You can freeze them Kim and take them out on Halloween. That's what I've done and it works well.

Laura

Unknown said...

Ooh, thanks for the oh so speedy response!
And just to make sure: Freeze them after baking or before?

The Cooking Photographer said...

Kim that's a great question! I've always frozen them after baking, but if you froze them before you could have fresh crackers in minutes. That's a great idea.

So the answer is either way would work I think.

Unknown said...

Always preferred to freeze cookies before they're baked, because I just love eating them when they're still slightly warm :)
(And the wonderful smell from the oven doesn't hurt either!)

I figured it was also the best way to preserve the 'nature' of the cookie, if you know what I mean.
But always wondered if that was truely the case.

I guess I'm being too much of a perfectionist. Like you said, both would probably work well and no one will notice the difference :)

The Cooking Photographer said...

I think it's a great idea Kim. I'll do that next time too.

Unknown said...

Just got back from grocery shopping and now I'll get crackin' on the crackers ;)
Thanks again!

Bernadetta said...

Can't wait to try these today :)

The Cooking Photographer said...

I hope these worked for you today.

Laura

Spice Sherpa said...

I'm downloading your recipe and making these crackers for evening full of soup and bread. Thought it'd be a fun addition for everyone. Plan to add fresh rosemary to the recipe and use leaf cookie cutters for a post-Halloween autumn theme.

Thanks!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Rosemary will be beautiful in these crackers. What a great idea. I hope you enjoy making these!

Laura

Bourbonnatrix said...

Hi Laura,
I just made your recipe into gold coins for my pot of gold for St. Patrick's day. I hope you don't mind that I posted your recipe on my blog (with all credit going to you, of course)?

Thanks!

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