You might be tired of hearing about homemade crackers by now. But like all good things, you can’t just make one kind! I find these recipes so interesting – how the ingredients change with the texture and moisture in the cheeses. With little moisture in gruyère cheese, Martha adds milk to this recipe. I sometimes wonder how she arrived at these different ingredients. I have a hard time imagining Martha having an epiphany over discovering that sour cream was the secret fix to the Parmesan and Rosemary Cracker. Especially considering the book with this recipe was printed BP (before prison).

Lucky for you, this is my last post on homemade crackers – for this week. I did receive a suggestion to do research cheese straws next.

Martha Stewart’s Thyme and Gruyère Icebox Crackers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish
• 3 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small cubes
• 1 cup gruyere cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 large egg white

Assembly: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Gradually add in the butter until the mixture becomes a coarse meal. Add the cheese and pulse. Slowly add the milk until the dough comes together. Put the dough on a floured surface and shape it into a 2 inch log. Wrap in plastic and chill over night.

When ready to bake, slice the log into 1/4 inch crackers. Use the egg white as glue to garnish each cracker with a sprig of thyme. Bake at 325 degrees until golden and firm.