Day 12 … Togarashi Olive Oil Crackers

This is it: Day 12 of The 12 Days of Crackers and the final in the olive oil cracker series. When I was coming up with ideas for flavoring all these crackers, I took stock of my spice selection. To put it bluntly, it is a vast assortment; the accumulations of multiple development projects, travel adventures and an irresistible urge to buy interesting things. Digging through a cabinet, I noticed I had 4 or 6 different bottles of Japanese seasonings, the majority in the togarashi family. I should probably use them.

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Day 10 … Za’atar and Parmesan Olive Oil Crackers

Got the hang of an olive oil cracker? Good. Because now we’re getting interesting. This one has za’atar, that cornerstone seasoning of Levantine cooking. If you’ve cooked from any of Yotam Ottolenghi’s books, chances are good you’ve got a jar sitting on your spice shelf. (Probably some sumac too, right?) So let’s use it, shall we?

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Day 9 … Everything Spice Olive Oil Crackers

Part Three … here we go. We’ve done four cheese crackers, we’ve done four savory shortbread crackers and now, for the final installment in the 12 Days of Crackers, we have the most crackery of the bunch: Olive Oil Crackers and the first one is a particular favorite … Everything Spice Olive Oil Crackers.

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Day 8 … Herbes de Provence Savory Shortbread

Alright. We’re at the end of phase 2 of this series, the fourth savory shortbread recipe and eight of twelve down. Next up we’ll move onto rolled olive oil crackers but for today, we’re using one of my very favorite herb combinations: herbes de provence. It’s a blend of dried herbs considered typical of the Provence region of southeast France and typically includes savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, oregano and for some reason only in the United States, lavender. Personally, I like the lavender addition here as it’s such a slight, complimentary flavor and in no way tastes like potpourri or soap as can often happen. Add some salt and pepper and maybe a little lemon zest and you have the best lamb dry rub ever. But I digress.

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Day 6 … Apricot Tarragon Savory Shortbread

Continuing on this cracker journey, and more specifically this savory shortbread journey, today we’ll take that base shortbread dough and add some fruit and herbs. First up was a spiced, salty olive version, today is dried apricots and tarragon.

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Day 5 … Mediterranean Olive Savory Shortbread

So we’re moving onto the next phase of the 12 Days of Crackers. The first four posts were cheese based; a buttery pie dough type of base with cheddar, blue, goat or parmesan cheese mixed in. Did it, done, in the freezer, right? Ok, moving on. Today and for the next four posts, we’ll explore savory shortbread. Buttery, crumbly, just a touch sweet and utterly irresistible. And we’re starting off the bunch with a Mediterranean olive version.

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Day 4 … Parmesan and Rosemary Crackers

Ok folks, last day of this cheese set of crackers. Today it’s the fourth and final one of the bunch and a classic combination at that: parmesan and rosemary. Yes, I did save the obvious one until last. It’s just that good.

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Day 3 … Goat Cheese and Chive Crackers

What is a cheese cracker variety if some sort of herby goat cheesy thing isn’t in the mix? Well, guess what today is? For Day 3, take that base cheese cracker dough, mix in some soft, fresh goat cheese, a bunch of chives and a clove of garlic and you’ve got a rather tasty little cracker.

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Day 2 … Blue Cheese and Fig Crackers

Today, for our second cracker of this bunch, I’ve got that classic fruit and cheese combination: a little blue cheese, a little fig. Now, I need to explain something before we get too far into this. These are subtle. There is not an overwhelming flavor of blue cheese in this cracker. It’s rather dainty, comes through on the back end and this makes it an excellent cracker to add to the cheese board/charcuterie platter to top with other delicious things. This is good news if you’re not a big fan of the blue. There’s just enough savoriness to make it interesting but isn’t overwhelming. If you’re a blue cheese fan expecting a big blue cheese hit, this may not do it for you but put a few fresh crumbles on top you’ve got one outstanding bite. So you do you.

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Day 1 … Cheddar Old Bay Crackers

Ok, here we go! The first of the bunch of our 3 dough, 12 crackers for all your holiday snacking needs and we’re starting off with the four cheese varieties. First up is a good one – Cheddar Old Bay Crackers. Sort of like a zipped up Cheez It. To start, make the Cheese Base Cracker Dough I posted the other day, divide it into four even pieces and use one for this recipe. Refrigerate or freeze the rest – we’ll get to it. (This works best if you make the base dough and flavor right away but I realize that’s not always possible. If the dough is frozen, let it thaw in the fridge overnight. If it’s cold and hard, let it sit on the counter for a good 10-15 minutes so it’s cool but pliable.) This round is sort of like pie dough, you want to keep the butter kind of chunky, or as best as you can as it’s going to get worked over a few times, both in the initial mix and in the flavoring mix.

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