"Crack"er Addict

I recently purchased some crazy hot pepper jelly and wanted to snack on it with some cream cheese and crackers. Of course, I didn't have any crackers and was days away from my next shopping trip. I looked up this extremely easy recipe and I was back in business. These crackers were so much better than Saltines. You could serve them with a savory or sweet jelly and cream cheese or simply top them with slices of your favorite cheese.

Salt and Pepper Crackers
Adapted from Sunset

Yield

Makes 4 dozen 2- by 2-in. crackers

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour, plus more for rolling
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• About 1 tbsp. salt
• About 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup milk

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Pulse flour, sugar, 1 tbsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper in a food processor to combine,

add butter,

pulse until no discernible pieces remain. Add the milk

and pulse until the mixture comes together in the food processor bowl and forms a ball.

2. Divide dough ball in half. Working with one half at a time, pat each into a rectangle. Roll rectangles paper-thin and carefully transfer each to its own baking sheet using a spatula to prevent tearing. Sprinkle with sea salt. Cut lightly (not necessarily all the way through) into 2-in. squares. (Cut off uneven sides or simply have some uneven crackers.)

3. Bake 10 minutes on bottom rack of the oven. Then move the pan to the top rack of the oven and continue baking until dough is starting to brown but is still mostly white or golden, about 5 minutes. Let cool on pans. Break into crackers and serve.