Comté and rosemary crackers

Still working my way through the dregs of the Christmas cheese, I decided to make these comté and rosemary crackers. (Why I thought we’d eat our body weight in cheese over the holidays, I now have no idea. Perhaps all those cocktails I was imbibing clouded my judgement…)

The crackers went down a storm with the girls, who had been a bit sniffy about the Comté, despite my efforts to pass it off as “French cheddar”. According to Lyra, they are “even better than Goldfish crackers”, which is high praise indeed coming from her.

The inspiration came from a recipe in The Smitten Kitchen cookbook, which I tweaked a bit to get the dough to a rolling consistency. I imagine it would vary with the age and condition of the cheese used, so I’d recommend adjusting the amount of flour or butter if it doesn’t seem quite right.

Comté and rosemary crackers
(makes about 50)

• 170g (6oz) grated Comté (or other hard cheese like gruyère, emmenthal or cheddar)
• 4 Tb butter
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Combine the cheese, butter, flour and salt in a food processor and pulse until the mixture starts to look shaggy.
3. Form the dough into a thick square, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm it up.
4. Roll out the dough  on a floured work surface to a thickness of about 3mm. Using a pastry wheel or a knife, cut the dough into a large grid. (Depending on the angle your lines intersect, this will make a sheet of either square or diamond shaped crackers.)
5. Prick each cracker with a toothpick, dab with water and sprinkle with a bit of extra salt, if desired.
6. Transfer the crackers to baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper, leaving room to allow them to spread.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Tags: cheese, cracker, finger foods, rosemary, vegetarian