St. Patrick’s Day Snack ~ Shamrock Whole-Wheat Crackers with Parsley

I’m not Irish, but St. Patrick’s Day is still one of my favorite holidays! I always try to make something fun in the kitchen to celebrate. This year I made a couple of batches of these shamrock-shaped crackers with flecks of parsley for a little added color. (Gotta have a little green on this holiday!) I served mine with an Irish cheddar and Guinness spread to make this snack even more Irish.

Shamrock Whole-Wheat Crackers with Parsley

1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling the tops of the crackers

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 tablespoons light olive oil

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor, process the flours, parsley, salt, and baking powder to ensure the parsley is very fine. Add the olive oil and water, and pulse until combined. Take the dough out of the processor, and knead a couple of times with your hands until it becomes a cohesive ball. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 3 portions. Lightly dust a clean work surface and a rolling pin with all-purpose flour. Roll out one portion of the dough until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Dust with a little extra flour if it sticks as you roll it. Cut out the crackers into desired shapes. (I used a cookie cutter in the shape of a shamrock for my crackers.) Repeat with the remaining two portions of dough.

Place the crackers on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt on top. Dock the top of the crackers with a fork to ensure they don’t rise and bubble very much as they bake. Bake each tray individually for about 9 minutes, turning once, until the crackers are crisp and lightly golden.

PS. After I took my photos for this blog entry, hubby said the cheese spread was also something delicious I should blog about! So here’s a bonus recipe. 🙂

Irish Cheddar and Guinness Spread

4 ounces sharp Irish cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded

4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons Guinness stout

Add all of the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. Process a few minutes, until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times to make sure everything is well incorporated.