Active time: 30 minutes Total time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Step away from boxed crackers and make your own! In this simple recipe, whole-grain cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, butter and buttermilk meld into buttery, crisp crackers that are perfect for scooping up a unique guacamole-green salsa hybrid. Be sure to roll out the cracker dough as evenly as possible for the best results.

Tomatillo Avocado Dip With Cornmeal Crackers

Ingredients

For the crackers

  • 1 cup (160g) fine yellow cornmeal
  • 3/4 cup (100g) whole-wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) cold butter, cut into tiny pieces
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) cold buttermilk or milk

For the dip

  • 1 pound (454g) tomatillos, husks discarded
  • 1 jalapeno chili pepper
  • 1/4 cup (15g) cilantro leaves
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 medium (255g) Hass avocado, finely chopped
  • 2 green onions, chopped

Directions

Add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cayenne to a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until finely ground, about 10, 1-second pulses. Add the buttermilk and pulse a few times until the mixture forms clumps. Turn out onto plastic wrap, divide into 2 equal portions, and form into 1-inch thick disks. Wrap in plastic, and chill for 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.

While the dough is chilling, make the dip. Preheat the broiler, adjust oven rack to 4 inches below broiling element, and line a baking sheet with foil. Place the tomatillos and jalapeno pepper on the baking sheet. Broil until the skins of the tomatillos and chili pepper are blackened, turning everything once, about 10 minutes.

Combine broiled vegetables, cilantro leaves, lime juice, cumin and salt in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into a serving bowl and refrigerate until cooled, about 30 minutes. Stir in the avocado and green onions. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place one disk of dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured plastic wrap. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thick (.08mm), about the thickness of 2 stacked pennies. Cut the dough into 2-inch (5cm) squares and transfer to the baking sheet with a floured spatula. Bake until golden brown on the bottom and dry and crisp to the touch, 12–15 minutes. Watch carefully the last 5 minutes and remove any crackers that are getting too dark. Cool crackers on a rack and store leftovers in an air-tight container for up to 1 week.

Serves: 4 | Serving Size: 5 crackers and 1/3-cup dip

Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 447; Total Fat: 24g; Saturated Fat: 12g; Monounsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 572mg; Carbohydrate: 56g; Dietary Fiber: 6g; Sugar: 7g; Protein: 11g