Pimento Cheese with Salt-and-Pepper Butter Crackers

Ingredients

    4 cups flour

    2 tablespoons baking powder

    2 tablespoons sugar

    1 1/2 teaspoons salt

    1/4 teaspoon pepper

     10 tablespoons unsalted butter

    3 tablespoons melted butter

    6 tablespoons canola oil

    2/3 cup cold water

pimento cheese

    2 garlic cloves, crushed

    1 red  pepper, chopped

    13 piece sharp cheddar cheese

    4 piece cream cheese at room temperature

    1/2 cup mayonnaise

    1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

 1-Make the crackers In the bowl of a food processor,

Mix both flours with the baking powder, sugar, salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Add the butter and the oil and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water and pulse just until the dough comes together. Knead several times.

2- Divide the dough in half and form into two 1-inch-thick squares. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.


3-Roll out 1 piece of dough to an 1/8-inch-thick square. Using a fluted pastry cutter, cut the dough into squares. Arrange the crackers on the prepared baking sheets, make spaced between them. Poke 4 rows of holes in the center of each cracker then freeze the crackers until firm, 30 minutes. 


4- Preheat the oven to 400°. Brush the crackers with butter; sprinkle with pepper. Bake for 15 minutes, shifting the pans halfway through. Transfer the crackers to a rack to cool. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 with the remaining dough. 


 5- Meanwhile, make the pimento cheese In a food processor, pulse the garlic until finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until well blended. Scrape the pimento cheese into a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving with the crackers.

 

H.Zoghib