Olive and Roasted Red Pepper Crackers
I’ve partnered with Price Chopper and Collective Bias to create these Olive and Roasted Red Pepper Crackers. Homemade crackers are an impressive (and easy) recipe for holiday entertaining! #HolidayAdvantEdge #CollectiveBias
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Can we stop and talk about cheese for a minute? I could live on a diet of cheese alone. My favorite is still a classic extra sharp cheddar, but a good smoked Gouda or a hard sheep’s milk cheese rank pretty high up on my list, too. I’ve even grown fond of softer cheeses like chevre and gorgonzola. (To be honest, “stinky” cheeses like gorgonzola and blue cheese are a relatively new favorite…but now I’m making up for lost time.)
For cheeseheads like myself, this time of the year is akin to Indiana Jones finding the Holy Grail. Why is that? Well, holiday parties almost always feature a cheese tray, of course. If you’re looking for me at a holiday party, just find the cheese tray. I’ll be nearby. In fact, I may have just pulled up a chair and made myself comfortable next to that cheese tray. But here’s the thing: delicious cheeses need delicious crackers. And with that, I introduce you to these homemade Olive and Roasted Red Pepper Crackers!
Olive and Roasted Red Pepper Crackers
Olive and Roasted Red Pepper CrackersHave you ever made homemade crackers? They’re way easier than you might think! And you can also add in all sorts of fun ingredients. For this version, I used Lindsay’s green olives and red roasted peppers. I prefer to go with a milder flavored olive for this recipe so that the olive flavor doesn’t overpower the cracker. I find that Lindsay’s California Green Olives are perfect for this. I also added some diced roasted red peppers for a touch of sweetness. I’m warning you now–these crackers are addicting. We may or may not have eaten an entire batch last night.
Are you planning to invite friends over for a holiday party this year? Or perhaps you host a meal at your house for the family? On behalf of all cheeseheads out there, may I suggest including a cheese tray as a party appetizer? Cheese trays are fun, and pretty easy to pull together. You really can’t go wrong no matter what cheeses you choose.
For this tray, I swung by the cheese section at my local Price Chopper and grabbed a mild goat cheese as well as a wedge of gorgonzola. I prefer spreadable cheeses whenever I make a batch of homemade crackers. Speaking of crackers, don’t forget to whip up a batch of these Olive and Roasted Red Pepper crackers. I can promise you that your family and friends will be impressed when you pull out homemade crackers. (Just don’t share our secret of how easy they are to make!)
Did you make a batch of these Olive and Roasted Red Pepper Crackers at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Olive and Roasted Red Pepper Crackers
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or ½ all-purpose and ½ whole-wheat
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼” cubes
- 3 Tbsp green olives finely minced
- 2 Tbsp roasted red peppers finely minced
- ½ cup + 2 Tbsp milk
- olive oil and sea salt for topping crackers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- Using a medium bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt and oregano; whisk until well combined.
- Using a pastry cutter (or 2 forks), cut in the butter into the dry ingredients until no large pieces remain.
- Add the remaining ingredients (minced green olives, minced roasted red peppers, and milk) to the bowl; stir until evenly mixed.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured countertop. Roll dough to about ¼” thickness. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 2”x2” squares. (Tip: I prefer to make these crackers as thin as possible so that they become crispier when baked. Just watch them closely to ensure they don't burn!)
- Using a large spatula, transfer the crackers onto the parchment-lined baking sheets. Using a small fork, prick the top of each cracker 1-2 times.
- Lightly brush tops of crackers with olive oil and sprinkle with a small amount of additional sea salt.
- Bake at 375°F for 24-26 minutes, or until crackers are golden brown. Let crackers cool completely before serving.
Looking for more tasty appetizer recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Italian Herb Baked Lasagna Chips
You are my hero! Homemade crackers? *puts on my list of new things to bake*. I can’t wait to try this. One because, who wouldn’t want a homemade cracker? And two, no yeast involved! LOL! Oh, my favorite holiday recipe that I never make myself, but love to eat~ cheeseball. I will need to find a good recipe to go along with these yummy crackers!
Hahaha! You and your yeast, Tamara…I think I’m going to send you one of those big blocks of yeast that you find in Sam’s Club for Christmas this year. I think it’s 16oz. of yeast. Then you’ll have to get over your fear. But seriously, thank you so much….these crackers turned out so deliciously awesome that we may have eaten the entire batch in one sitting. Cheeseballs! Totally go search cheeseball on my site…I made a sweet + savory duo last Christmas that was amazing. I think I might need to make another cheesecall and another batch of these crackers now. 🙂
A big block of yeast from Sam’s would be so funny!! LOL! I will definitely check out your cheeseball recipes!
Dude, those flavors! How perfect are these for Thanksgiving. Nice job!
Thanks, Matt!! I suspect I’ll be making several more batches of these before Thanksgiving ever gets here…these bad boys were addicting!
I am in awe of your cracker makin’ skills. Seriously. And us? Separated at birth because you can find me firmly planted in front of the cheese plate too. Bonus points if it has olives, fruit and jams. Oh and goats cheese…must.
Note to anyone hosting a party that we are attending: double the cheese & cracker spread so the rest of the guests can have some too 😉
Goat cheese!! Yes! The only thing that may pull me away from the cheese tray would be a serving tray filled with a various assortment of your amazing cupcakes. How about this? I’ll bring the crackers, you bring the cupcakes, and then we can meet in the middle…at the cheese tray, perhaps?
Double the cheese and crackers? Nay! Triple ’em I say! 🙂
I say we put the cupcakes by the cheese tray and we monopolize both 😉
Homemade crackers? Seriously? You’re amazing! I may have to try and make these for our family Thanksgiving this year. My family would be impressed and very happy! Or maybe you can just bring some over–we’ll be in your neck of the woods! #client
Yay! I will totally make you a batch of homemade crackers, Sarah! Speaking of our area, did you see that they rescued Hoffman’s Playland? I remember you had come over for one of their last weekends…now you can do it again! Safe travels for Thanksgiving…and I hope you enjoy these crackers as much as we did. We might have eaten the entire batch in one night. Oops. 🙂
Wow! That’s amazing! Never heard of any one making homemade crackers. Your awesome cook! Why do I say that? It’s amazes me if a guy cooks. My dad never cooked, no one from my brothers did either and my husband is not a cook; he is a big recipe taster in the kitchen of Valya’s Taste of Home thought and I really appreciate it 🙂
Haha…thanks, Valya! I grew up with my Mom cooking and baking in the kitchen all of the time, and I just took an interest in. Baking bread is one of my favorite things in the kitchen…and crackers are kinda similar. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting!
David – you can have ALL the cheese if I can have ALL the crackers! Though Parmigiano Reggiano and Cheddar have been mighty good to me! 🙂 Love the roasted red pepper/olive combo in these! I love homemade crackers – they are so much more yumerific than those store bought ones!
I couldn’t agree more, Shashi! Homemade crackers are so much fun. I think you should make a Homemade Beet Cracker. That would be kinda fun, right? And that is TOTALLY a deal. I want all of the cheese…every last bite. Haha! 🙂
Perfecto with goat cheese, these looks crunchy good to me. Nice job!
Thanks, Kevin…I had a blast making these crackers. They were surprisingly easy…and really tasty! My wife and I ate the entire batch in one sitting. Oops. Time for another batch apparently!
Holy yum! I’m a super picky eater (like worse than a 4 year old), but you’ll be seeing me at the cheese and cracker table at your house this year. Better make extra.
I will totally make an extra batch of crackers just for you, Christy! How can you go wrong with cheese and crackers?? And for the record, I used to be super picky, too…then my wife kept pushing me to try new things. They say our taste buds change every 7 years. I think mine changed, and now I can’t get enough of stuff like blue cheese and olives! Delicious!!
Awesome job on the crackers, Dave! I love that there’s NO yeast involved in the making of them.. they are SO happening in my kitchen this holiday season! Oh, and GO CHEESEHEADS 😉
Quit being afraid of the yeast, Becca! It’s not a boogie-man hiding in your closet!! But yes, these crackers are crazy easy…Laura and I downed the entire batch in one sitting (with the help of a friend). Cheese for the win!! 🙂
LOL! I’m telling you, yeast is pure evil! I’ll shoot video to prove it. Watch what happens when I work with yeast and you’ll see it jumping out of the bowl and running from the room. Maybe then you’ll understand why I just want to make these crackers, naan, tortillas, and every other unleavened food available! 😉
Hahaha! It sounds something like the Stay Puft marshmallow man from Ghostbusters! I can visualize you holding one of the ghostbuster guns trying to control the yeast. Haha! But I still need a video. 🙂
No way?! You made your own freaking crackers, David! This is awesome.
Lol! I did indeed, Sean. But here’s the thing…crackers are really pretty simple to make at home. They aren’t that different from cookies…with less sugar and added olives and roasted red peppers. 🙂
Oh my word I love these crackers!!
Thank you so much, Aimee! These crackers were fun to make…and even more fun to eat! 🙂
These crackers look fantastic, David! If you had a moment, I would be delighted if you’d pop on over to my blog and add this (and maybe 2 others!) to the #PureBlogLove link party 🙂
http://picnicnz.blogspot.co.nz
Thank you so much, Nicole! I’d be honored to share them on the #PureBlogLove link party…heading over there now! I appreciate you stopping by!