Thin and crispy with a satisfying snap, these basil and parmesan thins are a delicious savoury cracker recipe. They're perfect as part of a cheese course with savoury biscuits and ideal for snacking on at any time!
I have to say, I am loving the Great British Bake Off this year. I watched the biscuit episode wanting to make everything. So many savoury flavoured biscuits in the first round, florentines in the second round and then 3d biscuit creations in the third round.
Well, I've started with these savoury biscuits and I stress the word, 'started'. I have made a 3d creation as well so do check out my 5 Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day biscuits!
What are these basil and parmesan thins like?
But wait, this post is about parmesan and basil thins. I must stop myself talking about my next idea and bring myself back to this one. Yes, this one. What are these savoury parmesan crackers like?
Firstly the biscuits have a lovely snap. Is that the correct terminology? Or was it crack? Or break? Basically, these thins are crispy.
They also score in the all important taste test. They are scrumptious - strong and cheesy, which is what I want from a savoury cheese biscuit. The parmesan is quite strong and the basil is subtle, but you can still taste it.
They are also small or at least mine are, which is good because you can eat one and then another, and another, and another. You won't feel like you are overeating.
Go on. Help yourself!
What ingredients do you need for basil and parmesan thins?
You need just 5 ingredients: plain flour, butter, parmesan, basil and black pepper.
How do you make these savoury parmesan thins?
There is a full recipe card further down the page but basically I use a food processor to combine the flour and butter and then add the rest of the ingredients and blend to form a dough.
It's really quick to make the crackers this way although you can make them by hand too.
Once you have a dough, just roll it out till it is very thin and use a cutter to cut out the crackers. You can then bake them in the oven in just 10 minutes.
The recipe is adapted from Step-by-Step Baking by Caroline Bretherton
How to store
If you keep these crackers in an airtight container they should stay fresh for about 2 weeks. That makes them perfect for making in adance or for gifting as an edible Christmas present
Can you make the dough in advance?
You can make the dough in advance and it will keep for about three days in the fridge. Alternatively you can freeze the dough for three months and then defrost before rolling out and baking.
Recipe
Basil and Parmesan Thins
Ingredients
- 85 g plain flour
- 60 g butter at room temperature
- 60 g parmesan
- 1 tablespoon basil freshly chopped
- Pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Put the flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until it forms a breadcrumb consistency.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse again until they are all combined.
- Knead the mixture briefly to make it into a smooth dough.
- Put a little extra flour on the work surface and roll out to a thickness of about 2mm. Cut out the biscuits using a cutter and place them directly on a baking sheet. I needed 3 baking sheets for this amount of dough.
- Bake the thins in the oven at 180°C for 5 minutes. They may have puffed up in the middle sp press them down onto the baking sheets to make them flat again. Bake for an extra 5 minutes.
- Take them out and cool them on wire racks.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More recipes you might like
If you like savoury homemade biscuits then do check out my savoury cheese and paprika biscuits.
Sofia
Great recipe, easy to make and so delicious. I didn’t have fresh basil to I used fresh sage instead. I chopped it super fine and it’s delicious. I also added some garlic powder to the batter. They came out really well. The dough was crumbly so it was a bit hard to get the small shapes but it worked out. Thank you so much for posting!
Corina Blum
Hi Sofia, I'm so pleased you made these and that they turned out well. It sounds like fresh sage was a great substitute for basil and I love the idea of adding some garlic powder.
Emily @amummytoo
They look lovely! Impressed you got a good snap 😀 Thanks so much for linking up with #recipeoftheweek. Sorry I was particularly slow getting over for this one. I've pinned it to my food board and a tweet will go out shortly 🙂
Corina
Thank you.
Caroline
I think these would be just as good eaten on their own as they would be eaten with cheese. Thanks for entering Alphabakes!
Corina
They are quite cheesy so no, you don't really need cheese with them.
Jacqui
Just made these and they are so delicious. I did substitute the basil for wild garlic as I had to use it up and I added a tbs of mustard powder - I always add English mustard to any recipe with cheese as it enhances the cheese flavour. I baked them in my air fryer. They really scrumptious will be doing them again!
Corina Blum
I'm so pleased you liked them and I bet they were delicious with wild garlic in! They sound lovely. Thanks for letting me know.
Cat
These sound delicious! I love a savory biscuit so will be giving these a try.
Corina
I'm sure you won't be disappointed!
Stacey Guilliatt (Nobody Said It Was Easy)
Yum, I love a good very cheesy biscuit! #greatbloggersbakeoff2014
Corina
Me too! I want to make some more of these soon. I'm missing them.
Julie's Family Kitchen
Oh these savoury biscuits sound just gorgeous with the Parmesan and basil. I'm loving GBBO too, weren't the 3D biscuits incredible. Can't wait for bread week now.
Corina
I loved the 3d biscuits too! I'm hoping to have a go at a much simpler version in the next few days. Fingers crosses I can get mine to stand up.
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins
These look and sound so delicious! I bet they go perfectly with cheese x #greatbloggersbakeoff2014
Corina
I'm sure they are lovely with cheese but we actually just ate them by themselves - they were so tasty!
Debra Ceka (@mylittlekitchn)
These look and sound gorgeous. I love savoury biscuits so I might have a go at these 🙂 x
Corina
Let me know how they turn out if you do make them. They're really easy to make.
Eileen Teo (@etspeaksfrom)
It look so yummy! #recipeoftheweek
Corina
Thank you.
farmerswifeandmummy
mmmmmmm these look delicious
Corina
Thank you.
dedy oktavianus pardede
You should have your own brand for this biscuits or cookies, pamesan and basli thins is a really fancy names!!!
Corina
Ahthat's what I get from watching the Bake Off on tv!
MyKabulKitchen
I have never thought to make crisps or crackers at home, these look easy enough and I like that the ingredient list is so simple...often I am alarmed by the ingredient lists in store bought crackers...thanks for sharing 🙂
Corina
These really are some of the easiest biscuits to make. I hope you have a go at making some crackers one day.
Otilia
oh nice! savoury I need to try them out!
Corina
Let me know how they turn out. I hope you like them.
mummyconstant
WOW what a great idea. I have never thought about doing savoury biscuits before 🙂
Corina
You should have a go. They are really easy to make and great for making with kids. As well as the nice round ones I made, my daughter made some in a much more freeform style!
jennypaulin
oooh these sound nice, i have never made savoury biscuits but i like your flavour combination,.
thank you for linking up x
Corina
The great thing about savoury biscuits is that even if they are packed with butter, they feel healthier than sweet biscuits because they don't have sugar in! I love savoury biscuits and although this is only the second time (I think) that I've made savoury biscuits, I really want to experiment with more flavours now.
Hayley @ Hay In A Day
Ooo these sound tasty. Good luck with the 3D creation! you'll have to share some pics when you've done it! #recipeoftheweek
Corina
I will! I just need to find time to make it and decide on a flavour of biscuit!
Elaine @ foodbod
Loving GBBO!!!!!!
Corina
Me too! And loving reading about everyone's baking.