French-Thyme Cheese Crackers

These French-thyme cheese crackers immediately transport me to the rural countryside of Southwestern France.

On a cold, windy winter day here in Colorado I started dreaming of warm sunny days in France. We have spent time at our friends Glamping site, Simply Canvas, in the Dordogne valley of the Aquitaine region. Sitting on the porch of our tent, we where enjoying the delicious produce we had brought back from the farmers’ market in the city of Bergerac that morning. Three different kinds of French cheese, a soft creamy Camembert, a Muenster and a piece of aged Comté arranged on a rustic wooden board. We served them with a crispy baguette and fresh farm butter, seasoned with crystals of sea salt accompanied with a variety of olives. As we enjoyed these simple delicacies, we were surrounded by an aromatic composition of lavender and thyme growing all around us.

The herbal concoction of French thyme and lavender in combination with the aroma of the cheeses inspired me to create these rustic, flaky French crackers.

“Gesagt, getan” as we say in Germany (means “thought, done!”) I started my baking trials (and errors), a tweaking of the proportion of thyme to lavender, amount of butter to the grated cheese and heavy cream until these delicious, beautiful French thyme cheese crackers came out of my oven slightly browned, buttery and flak. These crackers are so satisfying for all your senses. They are not only deliciously aromatic with the herbs of thyme and lavender, but also beautiful and rustic, topped with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt!

Thyme and lavender are so delicious. But did you know that also do have many health benefits? It is said that thyme lowers high blood pressure, boosts the immune system, has antiseptic and anti-fungal properties, and boosts the mood as well. It is used as a natural remedy when you have a cough. And lavender is not only beautiful to look at but has as well antiseptic and anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties. Prepared as tea it can help with digestive issues such as nausea, intestinal gas, or an upset stomach, and is most commonly used to treat anxiety as its natural scent brings about relaxation and calmness.

Well, this got me hooked on crackers and I decided, this is only a start. I already have lots of ideas for different varieties in taste and shape, savory and sweet, vegan, Gluten Free with seeds…… stay tuned!

Here it is, a manifestation of our stay in the rural country side of France, the French-thyme cheese crackers! Or, may be I should I call them French-time cheese crackers?!

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French-thyme cheese crackers

These flaky French-thyme cheese crackers are so delicious just by themselves as a snack or an appetizer. They are the perfect companion on a cheese plate.

Course appetizer, crackers, gift from my kitchen, savory baking, snack

Cuisine French

Keyword French-thyme cheese crackers

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Dough resting 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 35 crackers

Ingredients

• 2 C white spelt flour you can sub with all purpose or GF flour if needed
• 1 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 Tsp. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. thyme fresh or dried
• 1/2 Tbsp. lavender dried flowers
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted, cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 C Comté or Gruyere cheese finely grated oganic raw old sharp cheddar cheese works well too
• 1 C heavy cream

Topping

• 1 egg white slightly beaten
• sea salt flakes

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F/180 C or convection bake 330 F / 165 C

2. In a food processor add spelt flour, thyme, lavender flowers, sea salt and sugar and pulse to combine.

3. Add 4 Tbsp. cold butter cubes, pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, then add the grated cheese and pulse again 2-3 times.

4. Now, with the processor running, pour in the heavy cream and process just until it starts to form a dough.

5. On a lightly floured surface briefly knead the dough and divide into 2 equal pieces, each shaped in a rectangle. To eliminate plastic and  protect mother earth, wrap the dough in a beeswax cloth. I love the sweet smell of pure beeswax from Khala Cloths with the lovely hummingbird + western blue bird design from Katherine Homes (a set of 4 different sizes). If you don't have these, use waxed paper instead to wrap the dough to refrigerate for about 30 - 60 minutes. 

   

6. On a lightly floured surface roll out the first piece of dough to a long,very thin rectangle. The width should be about 7-8' (18-20 cm).  With a pizza cutter cut the dough in triangles ~2' /5 cm wide. Leave the top edges rough, it adds a beautiful, rustic look. 

   

7. Transfer the triangles to a parchment covered baking sheet. Brush each Triangle with the egg white and sprinkle lightly with the sea salt flakes. Continue with the second batch. I filled about 3 baking sheets and baked them together with convection baking. 

8. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, then turn the sheets back to front and continue baking for 8-10 minutes more until they are nicely browned. 

9. Let the crackers cool completely before you store them in an airtight container. They keep fresh for about 2 weeks. But to be honest, they are never around that long in our home 😉

   

10. Guten Appetit!

Recipe Notes

Gift from your kitchen: These French-thyme cheese crackers are not only flaky, crispy and super delicious but also beautiful to make a wonderful gift from your kitchen.