Not the kind you pull but the kind you eat. I know that during the holidays we all end up with way too much sugar all around us – cookies, desserts, candy from decorating the gingerbread houses. So I decided that I would make a savory gift for friends: Parmesan Crackers. To see the recipe and some of the techniques I used follow the jump.Parmesan Crackers
- 1 1/2 cups flour (I used a mix of half whole wheat and half white)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (purchased already grated)
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 7 to 8 tablespoons ice water, enough to make a cohesive dough
Mix dry ingredients including cheese and then add shortening to make a crumbly mixture. Add water as needed to make a dough that will hold together.
Let dough rest for about 30 minutes.
Now it is time to roll. You can roll out the dough by hand to about 1/8 inch thick or, if you have one, you can use a pasta machine.
After each pass through the machine, fold the dough over and send it through again. After several passes through the machine, the dough will seem softer and more pliable. At that point, you can decrease the space between the rollers and continue to roll out the dough.
Place dough on parchment paper and cut to the desired size. Prick each cracker with a fork (in the back you can see my meat tenderizer which I thought would do the job but just stuck too much). Transfer the parchment to a baking sheet and place in a 400° oven for 8-10 minutes. Keep a careful eye on the crackers while baking. If they seem to be browning nicely, remove them early. They will burn easily being so thin. Sometimes I have to remove the crackers from the edge of the pan and return the others to the oven.
Let the crackers cool completely before bagging. 
Thanks to my handy husband for making me labels to put on the crackers. Because they look so professional, friends thought I had purchased the gift until they actually read the label!