Garlic Parmesan Shortbread Crackers
These shortbread crackers flavored with garlic and parmesan cheese are rich, savory and incredibly moreish. The perfect addition to any cheese board and a delicious snack to have on hand.
I have wanted to develop a simple, savory cracker to make as easy snacks or homemade gifts for ages and these buttery, cheesy, garlicky shortbread crackers are exactly what I’ve been looking for.
The dough comes together super simply in a food processor (although you can absolutely make it by hand too), is rolled into a log, refrigerated, sliced and baked. Their scent fills the kitchen with an irresistible aroma and let me just warn you, they are dangerously addictive and very easy to eat.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Butter. Salted or unsalted can both be used – I usually bake with salted butter as that’s what I keep most often.
- Parmesan cheese.
- Flour.
- Garlic powder.
- Dried parsley. Other dried herbs like sage, thyme or rosemary would also be delicious.
- Salt and pepper.
How To Make Shortbread Crackers
- Make the dough: Place the parmesan in the bowl of a food processor and blend until fine. Add the room temperature butter, flour and seasonings then blend until the dough forms into a ball.
- Roll: Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper and roll into a log then roll in the paper, twisting the ends. Chill for at least 2 hours until firm.
- Slice and bake: Slice the chilled dough into ½cm/0.19in slices then place on a lined baking sheet. Bake the crackers for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
- Chill and serve: Remove from the oven, allow to cool completely on a wire rack then serve.
Can I make these ahead?
The dough can be made and chilled for up to 3 days in the fridge or frozen for up to 3 months. The sliced crackers can also be frozen in a single layer on a lined baking sheet then transferred to a freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months. Baked crackers will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.
Ingredients
- 100 g (3oz) Parmesan cheese
- 125 g (1 stick + 1 tbsp) butter softened
- 120 g (1 cup) flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
Instructions
- Place the parmesan cheese in the bowl of a food processor and blend until fine. Alternatively, if making this by hand simply grate the cheese on the fine side of a box grater.
- Add the butter, flour, garlic powder and salt and blend until the dough forms a ball in the food processor.
- Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper and roll into a log.
- Roll in the parchment paper, making sure the dough is completely covered, then twist the edges to secure.
- Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm up.
- Once chilled, slice the dough into ½cm slices and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Space the discs at least 5cm apart.
- The crackers are best baked from chilled so only slice them right before baking OR return them to the fridge once sliced while you preheat the oven.
- At this stage you can also freeze the discs to bake later (from frozen): Allow them to freeze in a single layer then transfer to a freezer bag and keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Once you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180°C/350℉.
- Place the crackers in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
- Store the crackers in an airtight container for up to 7 days.