Paprika & Cheddar Diamonds

The Cheesemonger’s Kitchen was a Christmas gift from our daughter, Rachel.  It’s full of color photos – my favorite part of any recipe, so I’ve been reading and planning.  So far, I’ve made their Red Chili and Cheddar Diamonds, twice.  Both times, I substituted La Chinata Hot Smoked Paprika for the Red Chili.  The paprika adds the perfect complement to the cheese in color, flavor, and just a bit of heat.

These cheesy crackers have a wonderful addictive crunch.   There easy to make, give yourself time to let the dough rest for an hour

Ingredients

1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, chilled and diced
8 ounces (225 g) best-quality aged Cheddar cheese,grated
3 – 6 tablespoons water

Directions

• Combine flour with salt and paprika
• Cut in the butter until it resembles a coarse meal
• Mix in cheese
• Add enough water to get the dough to form a ball
• Wrap the dough in plastic warp and chill for one hour
• Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C)
• Roll dough to 1/8 inch (3 mm) thickness,  the exact thickness is important to get a light puffy cracker
• Cut the dough with a knife, fluted pastry cutter, or cookie cutter
• Place on a parchment covered baking sheet, giving them just enough room so they’re not touching
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown and are crunchy
• Cool completely, they can be stored in an airtight container for a week, but they’re better the first couple of days

Disclaimer:  La Chinata provided me with a free sample of their product to use in my recipes.