Spicy Cracked Pepper and Romano Cheese Crackers for The Leftovers Club

For this month's Leftovers Club I was paired with Ruthy from Omeletta. Ruthy has a great blog with a wide variety of recipes. She recently posted this recipe for Creamy Butternut Squash Soup. I love Butternut Squash soup and her addition of Buttermilk sounds amazing.

 

For our Leftovers Club exchange I baked Ruthy these Spicy Cracked Pepper and Romano Cheese Crackers which I think would pair well with her soup. I'm definitely going to have to give her recipe a try!

 

 

 

These crackers are really easy to make and only take a few minutes to mix up. You can make the dough the day ahead or even up to 1 week in advance! They would be the perfect addition to your Super Bowl Cheese Platter. The fresh cracked black pepper really gives them a kick and the Romano Cheese, which has a sharp flavor similar to Parmesan, can really stand up to the flavor of the pepper. Together, they are a great combination.

 

Congrats Ruthy on the upcoming new addition to your family! I hope you enjoy the crackers!!

 

If you're interested in joining The Leftovers Club and would enjoy receiving goodies in the mail each month (who wouldn't love that?), just ramble on over to Food Ramblings for all of the details

 

 

 

Spicy Cracker Pepper and Romano Cheese Crackers

Makes about 24 crackers

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 cup grated Romano Cheese
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
2-3 tablespoons of cold ice water

Directions:

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, pulse the flour, salt and pepper for a few seconds until combined.

Add the cheese and pulse for a few seconds to combine.

Add the cold, cubed butter and pulse until the mixture looks like wet sand.

Add the cold water 1 tablespoon at a time (don't include any of the ice) and pulse a few times after each addition. By the 2nd or 3rd tablespoon, the mixture should start to come together to form a ball. Pinch some of dough in the palm of your hand, it should hold together. If for some reason the dough is too dry, add a little more cold water and pulse. Try not to add too much water.

Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and roll to form a log about 12 - 13 inches long. Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight or up to one week.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350f.

Slice the log into 1/4-1/2" slices and place on parchment lined baking sheets. The crackers don't spread so you don't need too much space in between.

Bake for approx. 20 minutes or until the crackers and lightly golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack.

Serve as part of a cheese platter or with soup!

Store in an air tight container for up to 1 week.