Blue Cheese and Cheddar Nibbly-Bits

This recipe was adapted from Deb Perelman's recipe for Rosemary, Gruyere and Sea Salt Crisps found in her Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Perhaps I should say that this recipe was inspired by hers, since she might not absolutely approve of the following adaptation.

The major deviation in my recipe, aside from changing the type of cheese, omitting the rosemary, and doubling the quantities of ingredients, was the addition of water to the dough mixture. I suspect that if you followed Ms. Perelman's advice and used a food processor to cut the cheese and butter into the flour, the addition of water would be unnecessary, which is probably why she doesn't call for it in her recipe. Unfortunately, my old-timey kitchen doesn't contain a food processor.So maybe these nibbly-bits were not texturally perfect by Perelman's standards but like I always say, perfectionism impedes progress. In any event, you're likely going to be eating them while consuming alcohol and may be willing to overlook any possible imperfections.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of crumbled blue cheese

• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

• 8 tablespoons of butter (1 stick or 1/4 pound)

• 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour plus more for the counter

• 1/3 - 1/2 cup cold water

• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Methods:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.Mix the first four ingredients together using a pastry cutter until the butter has been cut into the flour, as if you were making pastry. Then add the water a bit at a time and stir with a fork until the crumbs hold together in dough form. Cut the dough in half and wrap each half in a square of wax paper. Chill for 15-20 minutes. On a floured surface, roll the dough to approximately 1/8 inch thickness. Cut the flattened dough into approximate 1-inch diamond shapes or squares. Dock each cracker with a skewer or knife point, then dab lightly with a bit of water. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Set the baking sheet on a rack to cool.

Here's my dough. It doesn't look bad here but just be aware that blue cheese can add a bit of a greyish hue to things.