Vermont Cheese Crackers Recipes

VERMONT CHEESE CRACKERS

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, cheese powder, yeast, salt, and baking powder. If you're using baker's ammonia in place of baking powder, set it aside.
• Add the shortening, working it in to make an unevenly crumbly mixture.
• If you're using baker's ammonia, dissolve it in a tablespoon of the ice water, and sprinkle it over the dry mixture before adding the remaining ice water. Whether you're using baking powder or baker's ammonia, stir and toss in enough of the ice water to make a cohesive (but not sticky) dough.
• Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a small rectangular slab.
• Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to a couple of hours; don't chill longer than that. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Very lightly flour a piece of parchment, your rolling pin, and the top of the dough. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough about 1/16" thick, or slightly thicker. If you don't have parchment, roll on a lightly floured work surface or silicone rolling mat. The dough will have ragged, uneven edges; that's OK. Just try to make it as even as possible.
• If you've used parchment, gently slide the parchment and crackers onto a baking sheet. Cut the dough into 1 1/4" squares; a rolling pizza wheel works well here. Don't separate the squares. If you haven't used parchment, gently fold the rolled dough in half, pick it up, and place it on a lightly greased cookie sheet, THEN cut it.
• Prick each square with the tines of a fork.
• Bake the crackers for about 8 minutes, till the ones on the outside are starting to brown around the edges. Remove them from the oven, and transfer the browned crackers to a cooling rack or piece of parchment; they're done. Quickly and carefully pull the remaining crackers apart to separate them. Return to the oven.
• Bake for an additional 3 minutes or so, or until the remaining crackers are a very light golden brown. You'll need to watch these closely at the end; don't walk away from the oven. They go from golden to dark brown very quickly.
• Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan. When completely cool, store in an airtight container.

CHEF JOHN'S CHEESY CRACKERS

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly grease with vegetable oil.
• Place butter into a mixing bowl; add Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt. Mix together with the back of a spatula until thoroughly combined.
• Mix flour into cheese mixture with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle in cold water, 1 or 2 drops at a time, and mix with spatula until it comes together in a dough that holds its shape when squeezed.
• Transfer dough to a work surface and press into a thick, flattened disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Roll dough out on a floured work surface to about 1/8-inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut 1-inch wide strips from the dough. Cut strips crosswise into rectangles about 1 1/2-inches long. Use the back of a bamboo skewer to punch 5 small holes into each cracker. Arrange crackers onto prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crackers are browned and crisp, about 15 minutes. Let stand about 3 minutes for crackers to cool and release from the foil. Let cool completely before serving.