The ingredient list called for cake flour, rye flour, and confectioner’s sugar in the same cookie-cracker. My first thought was, “How on earth is that going to taste good?” After baking and tasting Parmesan Pepper Rounds, I am happy to report it was the right combination. I could not quit eating these cookie-crackers!
As you can tell, I don’t know whether to classify these Parmesan Pepper Rounds as cookies or crackers. They were subtly sweet like a cookie, yet the pepper lent a bite of heat like a cracker.
I was so pleased to have a reason to dig into the 5-pound bag of rye flour I bought for some other recipe I never saw to fruition, that I didn’t realize my spice rack had a notable absence in the form of white pepper. Allowing impatience to get the best of me, I made the Parmesan Pepper Rounds with black pepper instead. I was glad I increased the quantity of pepper from 1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon as the flavor of the pepper was just barely perceptible.
The next time I make these coookie-crackers (there will definitely be a next time-these were so good!), I’ll likely increase the quantity of black pepper to 3/4 or 1 teaspoon. Or I might use the white pepper, or a combination of both white and black peppers. If I decide to go wild, I might even try a little cayenne pepper in the recipe.
The cookie-crackers were tasty with slices of leftover Parmesan cheese, and they paired well with fruit. If you are ever charged with bringing a fruit or cheese tray to a party, homemade Parmesan Pepper Rounds might be a nice addition to store-bought crackers. I imagine they would be a nice accompaniment to a cheese ball as well.
As the recipe noted, the better the cheese, the better the cookie. Said another way, it is in your best interest to spend a little extra money on a nice piece of Parmesan cheese than to use the powdered cheese in the plastic cylinders. It’s an extra plus to eat freshly sliced Parmesan cheese with the cookie-crackers.
Cookie or a cracker? I’ll leave it up to you to decide. Enjoy!
- 1 cup cake flour
- ¼ cup rye flour
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream
- Whisk together the cake flour, rye flour, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.
- Cream the butter and the confectioners’ sugar together in a separate bowl.
- Add the sour cream to the butter and confectioners’ sugar mixture and mix until just combined.
- Stir the flour and Parmesan cheese mixture created in step one into the butter, confectioners’ sugar, and sour cream mixture until well incorporated.
- Place the dough (it will be very soft) on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a ¼ inch thickness.
- Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into desired shapes and place on ungreased baking sheets.
- Prick the top of each cookie with a fork.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.
