Poppy Cheddar Moon Crackers Recipes

POPPY CHEDDAR MOON CRACKERS

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, cornmeal, poppy seeds, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cheese and 4 Tbsp cold water and mix with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated. If mixture is still dry, add enough of remaining tablespoon cold water until mixture holds together to form a soft dough.
• Turn out dough onto a work surface. With heel of your hand, smear dough 3 or 4 times in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one, then divide dough in half. Press each half into a disk, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface (keep remaining disk chilled until ready to use) with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and cut out as many crescent moons as possible with cutter. Transfer to baking sheets, arranging them 1/2 inch apart. Gather scraps, then reroll and cut out.
• Lightly beat egg with warm water in a small bowl for egg wash. Lightly brush crescents with egg wash and prick all over with a fork, then sprinkle with sea salt. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through, until golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool completely on sheets on racks. Make more crackers with remaining dough (cool baking sheets between batches).

POPPY CHEDDAR MOON CRACKERS

Steps:

• In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together flour, cornmeal, poppy seeds, salt, and baking powder. Add butter and blend or pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add Cheddar and 4 tablespoons water and toss with a fork or pulse until water is incorporated, adding enough of remaining tablespoon water if necessary to form a soft dough.
• On a work surface smear dough in 3 or 4 forward motions with heel of hand to develop gluten in flour slightly and make dough easier to work with. Form dough into 2 balls and flatten into disks.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. and lightly grease 2 large baking sheets.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out half of dough with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round (about 1/16 inch thick) and with a 2 3/4-inch crescent-moon cutter cut out shapes, transferring them to lightly greased baking sheets. Gather scraps and reroll dough. Cut out more crescent shapes in same manner and transfer to baking sheets.
• Brush crescents lightly with egg wash and prick all over with a fork. Sprinkle crescents with salt and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer crackers with a metal spatula to racks and cool. Make more crackers with remaining dough in same manner. Crackers may be made 3 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

POPPY SEED CRACKERS WITH EGG MOUSSE AND CAVIAR

Steps:

• For the poppy seed crackers: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Pulse the flour, poppy seeds, onion powder and kosher salt together in a food processor to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/4 cup of the half-and-half and process until the dough begins to clump together.
• Lay out a large piece of parchment paper and dust it with flour. Turn the dough out onto the parchment, form it into a flat rectangle and then roll it out to approximately 10 by 17 inches. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Trim the dough to straighten the edges, then cut into 2-by-1-inch rectangles. Brush the tops with the remaining tablespoon of half-and-half and sprinkle with the flaky sea salt. Transfer the crackers on the parchment to a baking sheet and bake until crisp and light golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool on a rack. (The crackers can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.)
• For the egg mousse: Pulse the eggs, mayonnaise, lemon juice and some kosher salt in a food processor until very smooth. Add the chives and pulse to combine. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a medium tip and refrigerate until ready to use.
• To assemble: Pipe the mousse onto the crackers. Top with a small dollop of caviar and some chives. Serve immediately.

ALMOND-POPPY CRACKERS WITH COTTAGE CHEESE AND HONEY

Steps:

• Make the crackers: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, poppy seeds, oil, salt, and egg white. Transfer mixture to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with parchment; roll out dough to an 8-by-12-inch rectangle. Uncover, and cut into twelve 2-by-4-inch crackers using a paring knife. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool.
• Make the topping: Pulse cottage cheese in a food processor until smooth. Spread 1 tablespoon onto each cracker, and drizzle each with 1 teaspoon honey.

CHEDDAR-AND-GRUYERE CRACKERS

Steps:

• In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and poppy seeds. Work in butter with fingers until crumbly. Stir in cheeses. Whisk together milk and mustard; stir into flour mixture with a fork until dough forms. Shape into a 2-inch-wide log. Wrap in plastic; freeze 1 hour or up to 3 months.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut log into 1/8-inch-thick rounds; arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake, rotating sheets once, until edges are golden, 14 to 16 minutes. Let crackers cool on a wire rack.

POPPY AND SESAME SEED CRACKERS

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: Preheat oven to 350°F
• Pulse together flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade.
• Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl and add the yogurt, 1/2 cup of the sesame seeds and all of the poppy seeds.
• Stir just until the ingredients are incorporated.
• Divide the dough into quarters, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 10 minutes.
• Bake the crackers: Lightly coat a baking sheet with vegetable oil and set aside.
• Lightly beat the eggs and sugar together in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves and set aside.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 10- by 16-inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.
• Brush the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle evenly with the remaining sesame seeds.
• Cut into 2- by 5-inch rectangles and bake on the prepared baking sheet until browned -- about 25 minutes.
• Transfer crackers to a wire rack to cool completely and store in an airtight container until ready to serve (up to 1 week).