Gruyere Shortbread Crackers



I got this great idea for an easy make ahead and freeze hors d'oevres from Whisk a great food blog.

She made freeze ahead dough and turned out fabulous looking cheddar shortbread biscuits to put pepper jelly or slices of smoked salmon on top.
Just take the dough out the night before and thaw them in the fridge, slice and bake!

I made this at 10 pm at night, wrapped the dough logs in plastic wrap and froze them in freezer bags.

I changed Miss Whisk's recipe by substituting gruyere for cheddar. I think you could do any cheese. Parmesan would probably be amazing.
I also added some fresh rosemary, since that is all that's left in my garden now that it's almost winter.

I also noticed that a very similar recipe is in Ina's new book "back to basics".

Here is the recipe for the dough to make ahead and freeze:



1 cup of flour
4 oz. of cheese (cheddar, gruyere or Parmesan) grated
1/3 cup (about 3 oz.) of unsalted butter
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp fresh rosemary or thyme

Mix all ingredients in a food processor until a nice clump of dough forms.
Roll out into a log, then cut in half and wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.



Take the logs out the night before you are going to bake your shortbread crackers and slice into 1/4" sliced rounds.
Make sure your dough is chilled because they will spread on the baking sheet.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

I will be serving these with my cheeses and olives on Thanksgiving.
yUmMy!



I will be back on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving with the announced winner of the Ina book giveaway and hopefully lots of food photos and recipes!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday to all of my friends in cyber space!
Stacey

Comments

SarahB said…
Yum! Who needs the toppings?! Just give me a glass of wine!
I could be wrong but that looks like either thyme or oregano - unless its some kind of rosemary I have not seen before...these crackers are a great idea...
Hi Stacey,
Thanks for this idea. I definitely will be trying it for the holidays. I still have a bit of rosemary too. It usually even lasts through snow. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Andrea said…
Those look great, Stacey, and I love your use of Gruyere, my favorite cheese ever!
Stacey Snacks said…
Yes Christo, you are correct (doggybloggy), that is thyme, WISE ASS!
I used it only for garnish in the photo.
The crackers have rosemary, however YOU can use any herb you like!
Stace
Giff said…
uh oh, she's getting all arty on us with herb garnishes. Next we're going to have polka-dotted backings that match the inside trim on the stylishly oblong semi-bowls showing off the wares.

KIDDING
Anonymous said…
Very nice, I adore rosemary and these sound delicous and look beautiful. Simple good and rustic. I grew up in Chester/Mendham area not far from you.
RecipeGirl said…
What a cool idea for an appetizer. Easy one too.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Anonymous said…
These are adorable, Happy Thanksgiving!
Have a great Thanksgiving Stacey!

I love these as an appetizer. It's a little late for Thanksgiving, but I'm bookmarking for my next dinner party.
Bluebird NY said…
Dough looks fool proof - I'm going to try this over the weekend....
Maria said…
What a great appetizer! I am loving these!! Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Anonymous said…
The idea of making crackers have always seemed so difficult to me. But when I made them for a fruit and cheese tray. They added such a unique twist on something that could look so basic.
kat said…
Those look beautiful. I'm sure they'll be a big hit on Thanksgiving. Have a great holiday!
Pam said…
These look really delicious. I love all the ingredients you used and the pictures turned out great.
Patsyk said…
I could definitely go for those on Thanksgiving... or really any time I need an appetizer! I like that you can prepare them in advance so that they are ready to go when you are.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Karen said…
Have always wanted to make crackers, but just haven't yet. This looks like a really good recipe. I think they'd be great for our big bash of a New Year's party--just the DH and me :)
This begs for my chicken salad - really!

-DTW
www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com
Nina Timm said…
Pass the wine, this looks so delicious and packed with flavor!!!
Take lots of pictures so I can see your feast! Happy cooking!!
xox, Marie
Peter M said…
HA! Doggy caught you using a different herb...it's not nice using one herb in a recipe and another for garnish, silly! lol

All kidding aside, these crackers would make cocktail hour so much more enjoyable...banish the Ritz cracker I say.
Deborah Smith said…
Hi Stacey,

You've been tagged at JerseyBites. Come and see.
Looks like they turned out great. I like your substitutions, and your tip about chilling the dough before baking is excellent! They look perfect! Glad you liked them.
Rico said…
just love this idea and the fact that these are savoury "biscuits" great with most meals as they are cheesy...well done ...saw you on foodbuzz
Anonymous said…
Hi there, do they spread out alot I prefer not to have them spread out