Asiago Cheese Crackers

A few weeks ago, I was feeling rather unwell. It started out with that scratchy pain in the back of my throat on a Friday night and by Monday morning, I'd lost my voice. In my younger days, being sick was just an inconvenience; I could still play and eat and feel fine. Now that I'm older and more fragile, getting sick is a travesty. I lose my appetite (which honestly, I can afford) and I can't do anything without feeling like I might fall over.

During this past illness, I was also feeling really dizzy and nauseated, which meant that even when I made some porridge (I needed something easy to eat because of how sore my throat was), it made me feel super blegh. A few days later when my appetite finally started to creep back, all I wanted to eat was cheese crackers. The problem? We didn't have any at home. The other problem? I was still too dizzy to trust myself behind the wheel of a car.

I ended up whipping up these insanely easy asiago crackers. Seriously, it was a ten minute assembly and then another ten minutes waiting for them to finish baking. I plan on making these again and again to serve with cheese platters and you know, as my own personal snack stash.

Ingredients [yields 3 to 4 dozen crackers]:
1½ cups flour
½ cup butter, cubed
2 oz. asiago cheese, grated
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ to ⅓ cup heavy cream

Start by cubing up some chilled butter and grating the asiago.

Combine the flour, butter, cheese, and spices in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand.

Drizzle in the heavy cream and pulse until just combined and the dough forms a clump in the processor.

Scoop the dough out and wrap in cling film. Chill for 30 minutes and then roll out onto a piece of parchment paper. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the dough into small 1" squares.

Use a toothpick to poke a hole in the center of each cracker. Spread the crackers out and bake in a 375F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool the crackers on a wire rack and then serve. Leftover crackers can be kept in an air tight container for a week.

These crackers are perfect for a cheese plate. I served mine up with a little havarti (the creaminess really compliments the sharpness of the asiago), a little pepper jelly (the spiciness adds great punch), and some pear slices (the sweetness adds balance). The crackers are salty and cheesy and buttery and they make a great snack.

Here's the recipe page: