They are addictive! These crunchy, cheese-y, peppery, smoky little bites, are the perfect TV snack or party nibbles. They are ridiculously easy to make, so get started. You will finish in no time and wonder why you ever bought those packaged cheese crackers from the supermarket. Did I mention they are whole-wheat? Oh yes!

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups “Mitsides” whole-wheat flour
• 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese, grated
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp black pepper
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• ¼ Tsp Sea salt plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 Tbs poppy seeds
• 125 grams cold unsalted butter, cut in about 1 cm cubes
• 5 Tbs cold water

Method

Preheat oven to 175 C.

In a bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, add the flour, cheddar cheese, Parmesan, paprika, pepper, cayenne, salt and poppy seeds. Pulse a few times to mix.

Add the butter cubes and pulse until mixture looks like coarse sand. Add water and pulse again only until mixture comes together. Don’t over do it.

Tip mixture on a work surface and shape into a round disk. Sprinkle lightly with flour and roll into a circle (or square, it doesn’t really matter), about 3mm thick. Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife (I use a scalloped edged roller cutter), cut roughly 2,5-3 cm squares. Use a fork to make holes on each cracker. Re-roll scraps and cut more crackers.

Line two baking trays with silicon mats or very lightly oiled foil. Greaseproof paper won’t be as effective as it may leave the crackers soft. Put crackers on the trays, spacing them about 1,5 cm apart. Sprinkle crackers very lightly with extra sea salt. Bake for 20 minutes until crackers are golden in colour.

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then on wire racks. Resist the temptation to eat them right away, as crackers will be soft when they come out of the oven. They will become really crispy and crunchy as they cool.

Makes about 80 crackers. Store in a biscuit tin.