Cheddar Cornmeal Icebox Crackers
Bake a log of sharp, cayenne-spiked crackers at home and carry them as the sturdy half of every lunch.
- calories
- 260
- weight
- 1.8 oz
- cal / oz
- 144
- protein
- 8 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Lunch
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Day hike
- Canoe / raft
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| All-purpose flour | 1 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow cornmeal | 2 tbsp | gives the snap that keeps them from crumbling in a pack |
| Kosher salt | 1 1/4 tsp | |
| Cayenne pepper | 1/4 tsp | |
| Nutmeg | a pinch | |
| Unsalted butter | 2 tbsp | very cold, cut small |
| Sharp cheddar | 1 cup, finely grated | |
| Milk | 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp | any kind; reconstituted powdered milk works |
Method
- At home: pulse the flour, cornmeal, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg together in a food processor.
- Add the cold butter and pulse until it looks like damp sand. Add the cheddar and pulse again.
- With the machine running, pour in the milk and let it run until the dough gathers into a ball.
- Roll the dough into a log about two inches across, wrap it tight, and chill it a full day. Less than that and the slices tear instead of cutting clean.
- Heat the oven to 325F. Slice the log a quarter inch thick and lay the rounds on a parchment-lined sheet.
- Bake 25 to 35 minutes, turning the pan once, until they are gold at the edges and firm in the middle.
- Cool completely on a rack. Warm crackers still hold steam and will go soft in a bag.
- In camp: open the bag and eat. Nothing to cook.
This is a home-oven job that pays off on the trail. The dough is mostly fat and cheese held together by a little flour, so once it is baked through there is almost no free water left in it. That is why a cracker like this rides for a week without a cooler while a block of the same cheddar would not.
The overnight chill is not optional. A cold log cuts into even rounds, and even rounds bake at the same rate, which is what gives you a cracker dry all the way through instead of one that is leathery in the center. The cornmeal is there for structure more than flavor. It keeps the edges brittle so the crackers break cleanly under a knife of peanut butter or a smear of shelf-stable cheese spread rather than folding.
Packing
Cool them all the way, then stack them on edge in a rigid container or a wide-mouth jar. A soft bag turns them into cracker gravel by day two. They keep about a week without a cooler; the butter and cheese are baked dry, so there is no fridge requirement.
Variations
- Swap the cayenne for smoked paprika if you want the color without the heat.
- Press a few sesame seeds onto each slice before baking for something to chew on.
- Skip the cheddar and add two tablespoons of nutritional yeast for a version that keeps longer in heat.
https://www.tasteandtellblog.com/cookbook-of-the-month-recipe-cheddar-cornmeal-icebox-crackers