It may seem like a lot of work to make homemade crackers when you can just pick some up at your local market. However, after you’ve tasted one of these sweet and savory honey-kissed shortbread crackers, I think you’ll admit that it’s worth every minute of time you spent baking them. They’re crispy, cheesy, salty, and have a lovely sweet honey finish. They are basically cracker perfection.
Several years ago, I made these Chipotle Pecorino Romano Shortbread cookies, and I’ve been dreaming about them ever since. Yeah, they were that good. The stuff dreams are made of. Well, guess what? These honey-kissed crackers are even better. They are buttery, crispy, cheesy, savory, salty, and sweet all at the same time. In short, they are snacky cracker perfection. This may just be the best cracker you’ll ever eat. Don’t trust me? Bake a batch and see just how fast they disappear.
Ingredients:
Shortbread Crackers:
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
- 1/2 Bunch Fresh Parsley, Very Finely Chopped (Room Temperature)
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour (Additional for Rolling Out)
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese, Very Finely Grated
- 4 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
Honey-Kissed Topping:
- 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 2/3 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 Bunch Fresh Parsley, Very Finely Chopped (Room Temperature)
- Fleur de Sel or Flaky Sea Salt
Directions:
Shortbread Crackers:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- On medium speed, cream the butter for 2 minutes in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the chopped parsley; mix on medium speed until incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, paprika, salt, garlic powder, and pepper together. Add the cheese and whisk until thoroughly coated with flour.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture; mix on low just until incorporated. Add the remaining flour to the butter mixture; mix on low until just incorporated.
- Add the heavy whipping cream and mix until incorporated.
- Coat your hands, counter, and rolling pin with flour. Bring the dough together into a ball with your hands. Roll the dough out to a 1/4-inch thickness. Use a floured round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out crackers. Place the crackers onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Re-roll any dough scraps and repeat step 7 until there is no longer any remaining dough.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Allow the crackers to cool completely before topping.
Honey-Kissed Topping:
- Place the butter and honey into a small bowl. Microwave until just melted.
- Whisk the powdered sugar into the butter and honey mixture until there are no longer any lumps
- Fold the chopped parsley into the topping and then use a small spoon to place a dollop on top of each shortbread cracker.
- Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt over each honey-kissed cracker.
- Allow the topping on the crackers to set up before storing them in an airtight container between layers of wax paper.
Suggestions:
- Use a Microplane cheese grater to grate the cheddar cheese. You want the cheese to be very finely grated, not shredded. This way, it will melt into the crackers better. Do not use pre-shredded cheese for this recipe.
- I used 4 tablespoons of heavy cream in this recipe. It may take more or less to bring the dough together enough to roll. I suggest adding 3 tablespoons first, and then add 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together.
- When it comes to handling, this recipe is very forgiving. Since these are crackers, you don’t have to worry so much about overworking the dough, like you would with biscuits.
- Use a small offset spatula to lift the crackers from the counter to the baking sheet. They will keep their round circular shape easier than if you use your hands.
- 20 minutes seems like a long time to bake these crackers, however, you want them to be thoroughly cooked through and crispy.
- Make sure that your chopped parsley is at room temperature. This will help it to incorporate into the dough and topping easier. If it is cold, it will cause the butter to seize.
- This recipe will yield 2 1/2 to 3 dozen shortbread crackers, depending on how thin you roll out your dough.
Improvements:
- Use fresh dill in this recipe in lieu of fresh parsley.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon of ground chipotle to the cracker dough.
- Replace the cheddar in this recipe with gruyère or parmesan.
- Serve these crackers as an appetizer or alongside this Tomato-Free Ground Chicken & Red Lentil Chili or this One-Pot Fennel & Stout Beef Meatball Stew.
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
- 1/2 Bunch Fresh Parsley, Very Finely Chopped (Room Temperature)
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour (Additional for Rolling Out)
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese, Very Finely Grated
- 4 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 2/3 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 Bunch Fresh Parsley, Very Finely Chopped (Room Temperature)
- Fleur de Sel or Flaky Sea Salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- On medium speed, cream the butter for 2 minutes in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the chopped parsley; mix on medium speed until incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, paprika, salt, garlic powder, and pepper together. Add the cheese and whisk until thoroughly coated with flour.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture; mix on low just until incorporated. Add the remaining flour to the butter mixture; mix on low until just incorporated.
- Add the heavy whipping cream and mix until incorporated.
- Coat your hands, counter, and rolling pin with flour. Bring the dough together into a ball with your hands. Roll the dough out to a 1/4-inch thickness. Use a floured round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out crackers. Place the crackers onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Re-roll any dough scraps and repeat step 7 until there is no longer any remaining dough.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Allow the crackers to cool completely before topping.
- Place the butter and honey into a small bowl. Microwave until just melted.
- Whisk the powdered sugar into the butter and honey mixture until there are no longer any lumps
- Fold the chopped parsley into the topping and then use a small spoon to place a dollop on top of each shortbread cracker.
- Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt over each honey-kissed cracker.
- Allow the topping on the crackers to set up before storing them in an airtight container between layers of wax paper.
![](https://i0.wp.com/yummly-static.s3.amazonaws.com/pixels/wordpress-plugin.png?resize=0%2C0)
PIN THIS RECIPE
Don’t let this recipe slip away. How often do you find a recipe intriguing, yet forget where to find it when you finally get the hankering to make it? Instead of digging through old posts or wandering aimlessly around on the internet, why not Pin this recipe to Pinterest where you can find it when you eventually need it? Simply Pin the image above and you’ll have it when that time comes. You can follow us HERE on Pinterest or simply click HERE to find all of our pin-worthy recipes.
Saltine Cracker Candy Topped with Kit Kat Bars
Baked Parmesan Italian Seasoned Crackers
Bacon-Wrapped Cranberry Jalapeño Crackers
TASTE OF HOME FEATURED RECIPE
This “Honey-Kissed Savory Shortbread Crackers” recipe has been featured in Taste of Home. CLICK HERE to see the recipe. This recipe was a Finalist in the Taste of Home Ready, Set, Bake! Contest and was featured in the 2022 Taste of Home “Christmas” Cookbook.
Make sure to check out all of the other great Baking Bloggers “Bite Sized Baking” recipes below. A huge thanks to Palatable Pastime for hosting this event.
- Baked Tater Tots from Magical Ingredients
- Breakfast Toast Cups from Making Miracles
- Chocolate Bouchons from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Eggless Pineapple Cupcakes from Sneha’s Recipe
- Hertzoggies (South African Jam and Coconut Tartlets) from Tara’s Multicultural Table
- Honey-Kissed Savory Shortbread Crackers from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Muffin Pizzas from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Pizza Bombs from Palatable Pastime
- Potato Salad Bites from Food Lust People Love
- Prickly Pear Tartlets from Culinary Adventures with Camilla