Cheddar-Sage Crackers

By kathryns

The dough can be made up to a month ahead; wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and freeze. Let thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling. Alternately, you can roll the dough, stamp out the crackers and freeze the unbaked crackers; they can be baked directly from the freezer.

Ingredients

• 1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 6 ounces sharp cheddar, grated
• 3 teaspoons minced fresh sage
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup fine cornmeal
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon each poppy, sesame and flax seeds (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Combine the butter, cheddar, sage, salt and black pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture comes together into a ball. Add the flour and cornmeal and continue pulsing until the mixture again gathers into a ball.

Turn out onto a sheet of parchment paper and divide into two pieces. Sandwich one piece of dough between two sheets of parchment and roll to a thickness of ¼-inch (be mindful of the thickness; too thin, and the crackers will fry out when they bake). Repeat with the remaining piece of dough. Stack the two sheets of rolled dough (still sandwiched between parchment) and transfer to the freezer. Freeze for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two rimmed baking sheets with silicone baking sheets or parchment. Remove one sheet of dough from the freezer. Peel the parchment off the top and bottom, then set the dough sheet on one piece of the parchment. With a 1½-inch round cutter, stamp out rounds of dough and transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly. Gather the scraps and set aside. Repeat with the second sheet of dough.

In a small bowl whisk together the egg and 1 teaspoon of water until well combined. In a second small bowl, stir together the poppy, sesame and flax seeds, if using. With a pastry brush, brush the top of each cracker with some of the egg wash and sprinkle with seeds. Transfer to the oven and bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking, until golden brown.

Let cool for a minute on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Gather together the scraps of dough from both sheets and form into one ball, then sandwich with parchment and roll to a thickness of ¼-inch. Freeze for 1 hour, then repeat the cutting and baking as described above (or save for another day).