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 Cheddar Crackers

Use good quality cheese and plenty of it. This turns out a tender cracker
that is layered like the best pastry. The flavor is of toasted cheese.
Adapted from =Crackers!= by Foust and Husch.

 2 cups fine rice flour
 1 teaspoon salt
 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional; more for a hotter cracker)
 1 teaspoon finely ground mustard seed (optional)
 6 Tablespoons (3/4 cup) butter or margarine, softened
 12 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
 3 egg yolks
 2 Tablespoons water
 Salt for the tops  (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the food processor or in a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cup flour
(reserve 1/2 cup), salt, cayenne and ground mustard. Cut the butter
into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Mix in the
cheese. Stir well until the cheese is evenly coated.

In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks and the water. Add
the egg mixture to the flour mixture and blend to form a dough that
will hold together in a cohesive ball. Add more flour from the
reserved half cup, as needed, to make a workable dough. Wrap the
dough in wax paper and chill one hour.

Divide the dough into two equal portions for rolling. On a GF-
floured surface or pastry cloth, roll out to a circle approximately
1/2 inch thick. The dough will be crumbly and a bit hard to manipulate,
but don't let this worry you, it doesn't hurt the final product.

Cut this circle in four equal "pie" segments. Gently lift each of the
segments one at a time and, without rotating them, stack them so that
the straight edges form the sides of a square.  Press this gently and
roll it out again. (This is what makes the cracker flaky.) Repeat
cutting, lifting and rolling out two more times. Roll the dough
thinner the last time, about 1/8 inch thick. If desired, sprinkle
top lightly and evenly with salt and roll over it lightly with
the rolling pin.

With a sharp knife (or rolling pizza cutter, if you have one), cut
the dough into 1-inch squares and place them on an ungreased baking
sheet. Prick each square 1 or 2 times with the tines of a fork.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove any crackers that are already browned
through. Turn the rest and bake an additional 5 or 6 minutes, or
until medium brown. Remove to a rack to cool. Yield: 70-80.

For another variety, leave out the cayenne, mustard and cheddar
cheese and substitute 12 oz. Feta cheese. This makes a cracker
with a little tang to it (great if you like Feta as much as I do).
I suspect you could substitute any hard or crumbly cheese.
(Oh how I wish I had some Wensleydale to try this with!)

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   This recipe, like all my recipes, is copyright 1995-1997 by
   Linda Blanchard.  I grant anyone anywhere the right to distribute
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Linda Blanchard
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Midland TX