CRISPY BUTTER CRACKERS 4 WAYS

Crispy Butter Crackers 4 Ways image

Make this one simple dough for four deliciously unique, crispy butter crackers! The key to making these crackers perfectly crisp is rolling out the dough into a very thin sheet, then baking them until completely golden brown. Feel free to try other flavor combinations with some of your favorite herbs and spices to really make these crackers your own.

Provided by Zac Young

Time 45m

Yield 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook's Note), plus more for dusting
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
2 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning (see Cook's Note)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
Coarsely ground black pepper
Flaky sea salt
1/3 cup roughly chopped dried figs
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and stems discarded
Flaky sea salt

Steps:

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Add the 2 cups flour, the Parmesan and kosher salt to a food processor, and pulse until the cheese is finely chopped and the mixture is evenly combined. Add the butter and pulse until it's evenly dispersed and the dough looks like coarse cornmeal. Add 1/2 cup of the heavy cream, then continue to pulse and add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture forms a ball but is not sticky.
Transfer the dough to a clean work surface that's lightly dusted with more flour. Shape into a disk, then cut into 4 equal pieces. Use a rolling pin to roll out each piece of dough into a very thin sheet, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer 2 sheets of dough to each of the prepared baking sheets.
Whisk the egg with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl until combined, then brush on top of each sheet of dough.
For the plain butter flavor: Sprinkle a generous pinch of flaky sea salt over one sheet.
For the "everything" flavor: Sprinkle the everything seasoning over another sheet of dough.
For the Parmesan-black pepper flavor: Sprinkle the Parmesan, several grinds of coarse black pepper and a pinch of flaky sea salt over the third sheet of dough.
For the dried fig and rosemary flavor: Sprinkle the figs, rosemary leaves and a pinch of flaky sea salt over the fourth and final sheet of dough.
Use a pizza cutter, fluted pastry cutter or 2-inch cookie cutters to cut out the crackers into desired shapes. (If using a cookie cutter, you can discard the scraps or leave those on the baking sheet and bake as well). Spread the shapes out slightly on the baking sheets.
Bake until the crackers are golden brown all over and crisp, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through, 14 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely, then serve. These crackers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.