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Rosemary Gruyère and Sea Salt Crisps

Source of Recipe

From "The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook" by Deb Perelman


Recipe Introduction

"I never liked cheese crackers as a kid—you know, the *orange* kind. My husband thinks this means I am missing something essential, either in my taste buds or in my food/life experiences. But maybe if they'd tasted like this things would have gone differently: These are my Cheez-Its for grown-ups. Why grown-ups? Because they go better with wine than with milk. They belong on a cheese plate with olives and grapes, not in a plastic cup full of Cheerios with a vented lid so a small squishy hand can reach in and reload. Or this was my theory. But what actually happened was, I went on my little stepladder to take a photo, because I'm short and stuff. And while I was on the top step, my toddler climbed onto the first step and scared the daylights out of me because he wanted a cracker. And then another one. Soon they were in the little plastic cup with the vented lid at the playground with him. But really, it should be no surprise that weird food tastes run in the family."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 ½ cups (6 ounces) coarsely grated Gruyère cheese
â—¦ 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
â—¦ ¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for counter
â—¦ 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for sprinkling


Recipe

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, pulsing until the mixture resembles coarse, craggy crumbs. Dump the mixture out onto a large piece of plastic wrap, gather it together into a ball, and flatten it into a loose, thick square. Wrap with plastic, and chill for 15 to 20 minutes, or until slightly firmed up.

On a floured counter, roll out your dough to about â…›-inch thickness—you know, pretty thinly. The shape doesn't matter. Cut the dough into a large grid—I used a fluted pastry wheel and made 1-inch diamonds. Dock each cracker with a skewer or knife point, then dab lightly with water and sprinkle each with a tiny additional pinch of sea salt.

Bake the crisps for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the ends are lightly browned. Set the baking sheet on a rack to cool.

Makes about 90 to 100 (1-inch) crackers






� Do Ahead:
Dough can be made a day in advance. It will keep longer in the freezer: Baked crisps keep for up to 2 days at room temperature in an airtight container, and up to a month in the freezer. They will not last 5 minutes at a party.