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frozen for up to 2 months and baked straight from the freezer—just add a couple of minutes to the baking time. Once the biscuits are baked, they're best eaten quickly.

Cheez-it-ish Crackers
    I LOVE WHITE WINE WITH CHEESE, and I love to serve something cheesy as a nibble with before-dinner drinks (see the recipe for Gougères on [>] ). So, since it's just not done to serve a hunk of cheese with aperitifs in France—hunks, rounds, and wedges are served after the main course, before dessert—and since the preferred nibble with that first
coupe de Champagne
or glass of wine is something small and often crunchy, I created these little crackers, which are so much chicer than pretzels. The dough is easily made in a food processor (although you could do it by hand), and it can be either rolled out or shaped into logs, chilled, and then sliced and baked (see Bonne Idée). While I make these most often with Gruyère, Comté, or Emmenthal, they're awfully good with cheddar, a cheese I'm convinced the French would love if only it could be made on their
terroir.
8
tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
¼
pound Gruyère, Comté, or Emmenthal, grated (about 1 cup)
½
teaspoon salt
⅛
teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Pinch of Aleppo pepper (see Sources [>] ) or cayenne (optional)
1
cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    Put the butter, cheese, salt, white pepper, and Aleppo pepper or cayenne, if you're using it, in a food processor and pulse until the butter is broken up into uneven bits and the mixture forms small curds. Add the flour and pulse until the dough forms moist curds again—these will be larger. There are times, though, when you pulse and pulse and never get curds—in that case, just process for a minute, so that everything is as moist as possible.
    Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead it gently until it comes together. Divide the dough in half, pat each half into a disk, and wrap the disks in plastic. Chill for at least an hour, or for up to 3 days.
    Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
    Working with 1 disk at a time, roll the dough out between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper to a scant ¼ inch thick. Using a small cookie cutter—I use a cutter with a diameter of about 1¼ inches—cut the dough into crackers. Gather the scraps together, so you can combine them with the scraps from the second disk, chill, and roll them out to make more crackers. Place the rounds on the baking sheet, leaving a scant inch between the rounds.
    Bake for 14 to 17 minutes, or until the crackers are lightly golden and firm to the touch; transfer the crackers to a rack to cool. Repeat with the second disk of dough (and the scraps), making certain that your baking sheet is cool. You can serve these while they're still a little warm, or you can wait until they reach room temperature.
     
    MAKES ABOUT 50 CRACKERS
     
    SERVING
Just pile these into a basket and serve them with aperitifs, or keep them handy for snacking.
     
    STORING
Packed in an airtight tin, the crackers will keep for at least 4 days. While you can freeze them, I find it's better to freeze the dough instead. To make things really simple, roll the dough out, leave it between the sheets of plastic or wax paper, and put it in the freezer. When the dough is frozen solid, peel off the plastic or paper and rewrap it airtight. To use, let the dough soften just enough so that you can cut out the rounds, then bake as directed; the crackers might need another minute or two in the oven if the dough is still frozen when you start to bake.
     
    BONNE IDÉE
Slice-and-Bake Crackers.
You can make this simple recipe even simpler by dividing the dough into thirds and shaping each piece into a log. (The diameter is up to you.) Wrap the logs in plastic and chill for at least 3 hours—or freeze them—then slice them into rounds that are a scant ¼ inch