Mancha Crackers

 These are my alter ego Lola's FAVORITE crackers... she would eat them at every meal if I let her!!!

(this recipe along with a sample of some phenomenal Smoked Spanish Paprika was included with November '22 Lola's Choice Kit... sign up to be included in future shenanigans!)

Mancha Crackers
(aka Lola’s Emergency Cheese Crackers)
Recipe by Lola Nelson

Makes 3 - 5 dozen depending on what size you cut them

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) grated manchego cheese
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room-temperature
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (mild-medium) This is my fav!
  
• 1-2 tablespoons milk, half and half or cream
• Sea Salt and finely chopped fresh rosemary for finishing (optional)

In a food processor, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and paprika in five 5-second pulses until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1 tbsp of the milk and process until the dough forms a ball, about 10-15 seconds, add a little more if your dough isn’t quite coming together.

Flatten dough into a rectangle that is about 1 inch thick, wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to chill. (You can leave it for up to 2 days before rolling out.)

When you are ready to bake your crackers, preheat oven to 350°F. Lay down a piece of parchment paper and lightly flour it, place dough in the center and lightly flour its top. Then place a second piece of parchment paper on top. Then roll the dough until it is about 1/8-inch thick.

Optional: Take the top layer of parchment off and lightly sprinkle with sea salt if desired. With rolling pin gently roll over the surface once. This will embed the salt just a little bit. If you are a fan of rosemary you could also sprinkle some finely chopped rosemary at this step too!

With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into rectangular shapes that are about 1-inch by 1.5-inches. I didn’t try to cut mine perfectly, there isn’t time for that… and don’t worry if the outside crackers have shaggy edges, that is how you know they are home made. They taste great!

With a fork make holes in each cracker, transfer crackers to a parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving 1/4-inch between them.

Bake the crackers for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are just browned.

Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. If you like a crispy cracker then extend the bake time to 18-20 minutes.

NOMS… don’t forget to share!

Notes

• If you don’t have Manchego cheese you can use any other cheese, like cheddar, gruyere, smoked gouda, or whatever you have on hand that isn’t too soft. 
• If you don’t have smoked paprika you can use regular paprika, but if you use HOT paprika or pepper I would use ½ tsp.