If you need me during the next couple of months, you can likely find me at home in my pajama pants and wool socks, tucked under a throw blanket on the couch with my dogs. If people were allowed to hibernate, I totally would during the Missouri winter months. Especially if you could save up all your sleep hours for those few months, hibernate, and then wake up ready to take over the world just in time for spring.

I realize this is not exactly what hibernation is, per say. But hey, it’s my fantasy, so whatever.

Hibernation is not an option. But soup is (and chili!). Bring on all the soup nights this gal can handle, I say. You know what goes good with soup and chili? Crackers! These are homemade crackers made with pepper jack cheese. They really aren’t all that spicy, but they are SUPER easy to make. Make a batch and crumble them onto bowls of soup and chili for a few days. You’ll feel better. It’s like carb medicine.

Pepper Jack Crackers, makes 4 dozen 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 inch square crackers.

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

4 tablespoons cold butter

1/3 cup heavy cream

coarse salt + pepper for the top

1 egg (for an egg wash top) optional

Make a batch of these and see what you think. If you want a little more heat, try adding a few big pinches of cayenne to your next batch. I do both, depending on how I’m feeling.

In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, shredded cheese, and butter. Pulse until crumbly. With the mixer turned on slowly, stream in the cream until a dough ball forms. Then turn off the mixer.

Secret: This is pretty similar to making pie crust. If you can make pie crust, you can make crackers.

Lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough as thin as you can. Think thin crust pizza. You don’t want to be able to see through the dough, but thin is your friend for these. They will puff some when they bake, so you don’t want them to be too thick.

Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into small squares, or any shape you want. You could also use cookie cutters for a fun variation. I also used a frosting tip to get those small holes in the center of my crackers. Roll the scraps together and cut again until you’ve used all the dough. Depending on your shape and thickness, you might get slightly more or less crackers in your batch than I did.

Place the cut dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and brush the tops of the crackers with it. Sprinkle on a little coarse grain salt and black pepper.

Bake at 375°F for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Once cool, store in an airtight container if you’re not consuming these within the day. Make a bowl of chili for me this week and add some crackers! Or come over and hibernate with me, I’m game. 🙂 -Emma

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.