Cooking with Auden: Animal Crackers

Its been some time since Auden and I have made anything. He was asking to make something and I found this easy cracker recipe.

Cheesy Animal Crackers
3oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg (from 1 large)

Start by measuring out all the ingredients.

Whisk in flour, baking powder, and salt, then blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients with the cheese.




Using a fork or your fingers cut the butter in to the flour.

Form a well in center of flour mixture and add milk and egg, then stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.

Gently knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 2 minutes. Chill dough for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

On a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Cut out as many crackers as possible from dough with cutters and transfer to 2 large baking sheets, arranging crackers about 1/4 inch apart. Its best not to re-roll the scraps as the crackers can be come tough. I just cut them up and cooked them as well.

Bake crackers, switching position of sheets and rotating them 180 degrees halfway through baking, until undersides are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool crackers completely on sheets on a rack, about 15 minutes.