A beautiful cheese or charcuterie board is a must at every party! Here are some of our tutorials: How to Assemble a Beautiful Cheeseboard, How to Make a Charcuterie Board and Fall Harvest Cheeseboard (easily customizable to other seasons).
The best cracker to add to your next cheese platter!
Homemade bread chips, or “crackers”, were always on our table growing up. Whenever my mom had some bread that was getting stale, she would slice it, brush with olive oil and toast in the oven until crispy. We would eat it as crostini or just brush them with butter and go to town! So much better than any store bought cracker. About a week ago, I discovered a whole unused pack of sandwich bread that was past its prime and immediately thought of my mom. She would never let it go to waste! I cut it into stars, brushed with herb oil and popped it in the oven until golden brown. What I thought would be a fun snack for my toddler ended up being served to some guests for our holiday gathering. There wasn’t a single person who didn’t comment on how cute they were! Little did they know, it took a handful of ingredients and virtually no effort to make them.
Star Bread Chips Ingredients
To make bread chips, you will need:
Bread – I find that sandwich bread will yield more stars. Olive oil Herbs – fresh or dried Salt
Choose breads that will give you larger slices, like thick sandwich breads, country or artisanal loaves. You can even use pita bread! Baguettes, ciabattas and other skinny loaves won’t work here as they won’t give you a nice surface to cut the stars. Stale bread works best, as it will be easier to cut through them with the star cutter. But you can use fresh bread if you lightly toast them before cutting.
How to make Star Bread Chips
When I say this recipe is easy, it’s an understatement. There are no special secrets, hacks, zip, nada! If you have kids, you can put them to work and make a fun family activity out of it. And with so many different shaped cookie cutters out there, you can cut them into other shapes, making these chips perfect for every holiday or occasion. Some fun ideas would be hearts for Valentine’s Day, clover for St. Patrick’s Day, flowers for Spring and leaves for Fall! Recommended tools: star cookie cutter, cutting board, parchment paper, baking sheet, brush. Here’s the rundown. As always, you will find the printable (and more complete) recipe at the end of this post!
How long will homemade crackers keep?
The chips will keep at room temperature, stored in an airtight container, for 3 too 5 days. If you notice that they are not as crispy anymore, you can place them on a baking sheet and pop it in a 350 degrees F oven for a few minutes to re-crisp!
Can I freeze bread chips?
I love freezing homemade bread chips! Just make sure to cool them completely before freezing. You will want to freeze them in a single layer on the baking sheet until they are frozen solid before transferring to a freezer bag. When ready to serve, thaw them at room temperature and then re-crisp them in the oven for up to 5 minutes.
Serving suggestions
These bread chips can be used wherever you would use crackers. Think canapés, hors d’oeuvres, appetizers, snacks, with dips and as part of cheese or charcuterie boards. And if you cut them smaller, they could be fun croutons for salads or soups!
What to do with the bread scraps?
Don’t throw them away! Leftover bread crust can be used in lots of different ways. Here are some ideas:
Bread pudding Croutons Homemade breadcrumbs As a binder for meatballs or meatloaf
These dips would go great with these chips!
Hot Smoked Gouda Bacon DipFrench Onion DipBuffalo Chicken DipRoasted Garlic DipBaked RicottaBaked Camembert
Bread:
Stale bread works best, but if you are using fresh, just lightly toast it before cutting to avoid squishing the stars.
Other shapes:
You can cut the chips in any shape you’d like. Hearts, clovers, flowers, leaves, snowflakes, candy canes, etc.
Substitutions:
You can omit the herbs or substitute for other herbs if you’d like.
Variations:
Cinnamon Sugar: use butter instead of EVOO and cinnamon + sugar instead of the herbs and salt.Sesame seeds: use sesame seeds instead of herbs.Garlic: add garlic to the herb oil. Or do a garlic oil without herbs.Spicy: substitute the herbs for chili powder or red pepper flakes.Parmesan: substitute the herbs for parmesan cheese.Everything Bagel: substitute the herbs for everything bagel seasoning.
Freeze:
To freeze the chips, wait for them to cool completely and then freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet. When frozen solid, transfer to a freezer bag. They will keep for about 3 months. When ready to serve, defrost at room temperature and re-crisp in the oven at 350 degrees F for 3-5 minutes.
Star Cookie Cutters Extra Virgin Olive Oil Oil Brush
