‘Tis the season for charcuterie! Instead of reaching for a box of the usual, why not wow your guests with this recipe for homemade Easy Paprika Parmesan Crackers! If you’re tired of crackers with ingredients you can’t pronounce, consider making your own crackers at home. It’s a lot easier than you might think.
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Two tricks to perfect homemade Easy Paprika Parmesan Crackers every time
Who doesn’t like a good cracker? I think of crackers as the exclamation point to a good cheese or dip. I like one that is thick enough to support a good smear of cheese without crumbling in my hands. But not so thick that it’s like biting into a brick. No artificial flavors or colors and preferably with ingredients I recognize and can pronounce. Does anyone else feel the same?
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Making your own crackers is really easy. And once you have a few base dough recipes, your ability to experiment with flavors is practically limitless. There are just two key rules you need to follow for success.
- Roll them thin – This is probably the more important of the two tricks. If your dough is too thick, it will not bake through and brown in the recommended time.
The texture of the cracker can also become too hard if the dough is too thick. Thinner is better. In this recipe for Paprika Parmesan Crackers, a perfectly-rolled dough will be as thick as a strand of uncooked spaghetti.
- Bake them until they are crisp – Don’t be afraid to develop a little color on your bakes. This is where flavor is developed. For these Paprika Parmesan Crackers, if the dough is under-baked, they will be soft – not crisp and flaky.
If you’re worried your crackers are at risk of burning, but they still need time in the oven, there’s another trick you can use. You can crisp up crackers by reducing the temperature of the oven to 170 degrees F. and letting them dehydrate until they have dried out completely. This “twice- baked” technique is used when making some cookies – like my Chocolate & Orange Biscotti. It’s what makes these cookies so crisp and delicious.
Got a pasta machine? Let it roll the dough for you.
I mentioned that the dough needs to be rolled very thin – so thin that it’s about the thickness of a piece of uncooked spaghetti. One of the things I love about this recipe for homemade Easy Paprika Parmesan Crackers is that the dough is very easy to work with. Because of the olive oil, it doesn’t stick to your work surface like other types of dough. And it’s very easy to roll it out by hand.
However, if you have a pasta machine, itโs even easier. I’ve had a Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine for years and absolutely love it still. The pasta machine is nice if you’re doing several batches of crackers at one time. Simply run the dough through the machine until it passes through the #5 setting freely. This yields the perfect thickness for these crackers and makes rolling and cutting an absolute breeze.
I love gadgets and tools that serve more than one purpose. I use my pasta maker machine to make pasta. But it’s also a great tool for rolling cannoli shell dough and these Paprika Parmesan Crackers as well.
A new holiday baking tradition?
I still get the holiday baking bug every November and December. But not all bakes have to be sweet. If you’ve burned through your cookie baking and have a little down time, why not give these homemade Easy Paprika Parmesan Crackers a try? They just might become your new favorite holiday bake.
Easy Paprika Parmesan Crackers
Course: StartersCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy8
servings15
minutes12
minutesForget the boxed crackers. Wow your guests with this recipe for homemade Easy Paprika Parmesan Crackers.
Ingredients
3/4 cup AP flour
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup cold water
Sea salt flakes to garnish before baking
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a baking pan by lining it with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
- In a 4-cup capacity food processor, combine the flour, Parmesan cheese, baking powder, spices and olive oil. Blend until the mixture comes together. it should resemble the consistency of wet sand. Approximately 30 seconds.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the water and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball. Approximately 1 minute.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and continue to knead it by hand for another two minutes.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle that measures approximately 30 inches x 6 inches. If needed, use a little extra flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface and your rolling pin. The ideal thickness is like a strand of uncooked spaghetti. If you have a pasta machine, you can run the dough through the machine until it passes through the #5 setting freely.
- Using a pizza wheel, knife or other device, cut the dough into desired shapes. I like odd-shaped crackers, but you can make perfect circles, animal shapes, squares, etc. Have some fun with it.
- Dock the crackers with a fork and transfer the pieces to the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt flakes and bake for 12 -15 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
- Remove from oven and transfer to a wire baking rack to finish cooling.
- Store crackers in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- Can I use fresh herbs and garlic in this recipe instead of dried? I recommend sticking with the dried varieties. Any additional moisture you introduce to the crackers will prevent your crackers from baking properly.
