Why have cheese and crackers when you can have crackers made out of cheese? Buttery, flaky, and tangy from aged Gruyere, these crackers are an easy pre-dinner nibble all by themselves. If you feel you have to, you could put out some slices of crisp native apple, or crunchy raw vegetables, either of which would add a refreshing brightness to offset the richness of the crackers. Gruyere Crisps are also nice on a larger platter with other crackers, cold meats, vegetables and fruits, on a buffet or for a finger-foods party, or a simple fireside supper for two.
This recipe makes a lot of crackers. I like to shape the dough into two logs – one to slice and bake right away, the other for some future day when I’m desperate for something quick and special, and really glad to discover a roll of this dough stashed in the back of the freezer.
The dough will be crumbly when you first mix it, and when you shape it into a log you’re going to think it’s impossible to form a smooth, round roll that will hold together and result in neat, round crackers.
The trick is to form it into whatever kind of loose, messy log you can, then wrap it in plastic wrap and continue rolling it, back and forth under flat palms as if the log itself were a rolling pin. Then chill it for several hours to get it nice and firm.
To get crispy, flaky crackers, you need to slice the dough as thinly as possible. Start with really cold dough, and use a very sharp knife with a thin, flexible blade. And while thinner is better, the most important thing is for all the crackers to be the same thickness, so they’ll all bake at the same rate.
Making these ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- These crackers are best eaten the day they’re baked. The good news is you can keep the raw dough around for a few days and slice and bake the crackers on a moment’s notice. But if you’ve baked them all and have leftovers: on the second (or third) day, they can easily be refreshed by reheating them in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes, and they’ll be almost as good as day one.
- If you want to keep the raw dough for more than a couple of days, double-wrap it in plastic wrap then a freezer-safe zip-lock bag, and freeze it for a month or two. With a strong thin-bladed knife the dough can be sliced frozen for instant gratification baking.
Gruyere Crisps
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (3/4 cup) unsalted butter (preferably European-style), at room temperature
- 12 ounces Gruyere, shredded
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon Morton's)
- 2 cups (8½ ounces, 240 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
Directions
- Step 1 In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until it’s smooth.
- Step 2 Beat in the Gruyere and salt.
- Step 3 Add the flour and walnuts and beat the mixture briefly on low speed just until it’s combined. It will look very crumbly.
- Step 4 Divide the dough in half and roll it into two 14-inch logs. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and then roll the plastic-wrapped dough back and forth on the board in order to form a tighter, rounder cylinder.
- Step 5 Chill the dough at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.
- Step 6 When ready to bake, heat the oven to 375. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Step 7 Cut the logs into ¼-inch slices. Space the crackers ½ inch apart on the baking sheets.
- Step 8 Bake the crackers until they’re golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Step 9 Cool the crackers completely before serving or storing.
