Garlic Comté Breadsticks

These super tasty breadsticks are a gourmet take on another childhood favorite, Cheez-It crackers. Garlic oil and comté cheese make these more refined, but equally delicious. The essence of the cracker shines through, without any of the artificial colors and flavors. These would be lovely served with salami and a cheese platter at a dinner party. They're sure to get gobbled up quickly!

Tania

I am a big fan of anything garlic-y and cheesy. I am not a big fan of recipes that take all day, like this one. It's not labor-intensive, it just takes a lot of time. First, I made the garlic oil. But when I read that the recipe only needed 2 tablespoons of oil, I didn't make the whole recipe. Even so, I have lots of leftover garlic oil. 

I had to go to a specialty cheese shop to find the comté, my local Whole Foods market didn't have it! When I melted it with the oil, it never got melty and liquidy, just kind of merged together into one mass. It mixed into the dough just fine, so I guess it was ok. Since the dough has so much oil and fat in it, it didn't stick to anything and was really easy to roll out.

Here's the issue I have. My freezer isn't big enough to fit a half sheet pan, so I have to clear a shelf in my fridge, which only fits the pan lengthwise. So when the recipe says to chill the pan, it takes much longer for me. 

Once the dough was properly chilled and rolled and cut, it was time to bake! Another issue I run in to, my baking stone is rectangular and has raised handles on the ends, so a half sheet pan cannot sit flat on it, unless I turn it lengthwise again. However, the back of my oven is hotter than the front, so one side of the pan cooks faster. 

Anyways, once the breadsticks came out of the oven, it was almost impossible to resist wolfing them all done at once! I started with the scraps, the misshapen ones that weren't as pretty. The garlic and cheese flavors came through perfectly well, and were super yummy! The taste really reminds me of the inspiration, Cheez-Its. But grown-up. I immediately devoured half of them! 

These are really best the same day they're baked, as they soften up considerably overnight. It's worth it to make the dough in advance and freeze it if you know you'll need them in a few weeks. Super yummy and sophisticated treat, one I'll make for my next dinner party.