Ina's Crackers!

I was so happy last Friday after coming home from work and finding Ina’s barn on the cover of House Beautiful—I love Ina! After walking Rolle & Ellie I plopped down for the evening with a glass of red wine and read it cover to cover. One thing that really caught my eye was Ina's new cookbook (Back to Basics). I thought these Parmesan & Thyme crackers looked wonderful! My plans are to make them for Halloween while passing out candy, so we adults will have something to munch on. The crackers will go much better with wine then Snickers bars, don’t you think? I'll cut them out as small pumpkins – now how cute is that!!! Here's the recipe courtesy of House Beautiful & Ina!

PARMESAN & THYME CRACKERS
Makes 24 crackers
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature4 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves1/2 teaspoon kosher salt1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for 1 minute with the mixer on low speed, add the Parmesan, thyme, salt, and pepper and combine. With the mixer still on low, add the flour and combine until the mixture is in large crumbles, about 1 minute.
2. Dump the dough onto a floured board, press it into a ball, and roll into a 9-inch log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 4 days.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the log 3/8 inch thick with a small sharp knife and place the crackers on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 22 minutes, until very lightly browned. Rotate the pan once during baking. Cook and serve at room temperature.

back to basics