Recipe: Homemade Cheese Crackers

75-85 (1 inch) crackers

Ingredients:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, chipped and cut into small cubes
• 1 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese shredded
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup plus 2 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1. Place butter, cheese, white pepper and cayenne in a bowl of a large food processor. Pulse until butter breaks up into small pieces. Add the flour to the food processor and pulse. Add the Worcestershire and pulse a couple more times. The dough will be moist but it should come together in your hands.

2. Turn the dough out on the counter and knead a couple of times to form a ball. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chip for 1 hour.

3. Place the oven rack in the center position of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and lightly flour work surface. Roll the dough into a rectangular shape measuring 1/8 inch think Cut the dough vertically into approximately 1-inch wide strips, then cut across the strips horizontally to make 1-inch squares. Form a ball with any leftover scraps of dough, roll out again and repeat until all crackers are cut out.

4. Transfer crackers to baking sheet. The crackers will not spread so it is not necessary to space them out. Use a wooden skewer or toothpick to poke a small hole in the center of each cracker. Bake for 15 minutes or until crackers are just starting to darken around the edges.

5. Transfer crackers to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Nutrition Information per cracker - Calories 15, Total Fat .9g (Sat. Fat .5g), Cholesterol 2.8mg, Sodium 8mg, Carbohydrates 1g, Protein .5g