Cracker

These crackers combine the sweet flavor of onions in the dough with the taste of Old Bay, the ubiquitous seafood seasoning. The crackers are a great recipe for children because the dough is flavorful and easy to work with, and kids can have fun at the end breaking the large pieces into bite-size bits. They go well with cheese, seafood dips and salads, steak tartare, hummus, baba ghanoush, and of course, good butter.

This buttery yet crisp New England cracker is a close cousin of the oyster cracker. Here's our delicious version.

Cornmeal lends these crackers a golden glow and a nice crunch; lots of crushed green peppercorns (left over from Chicken Spice Rub ) provide an intriguing spiciness. Serve them with cheese or all on their own with cocktails.

Too often crackers get short shrift as merely vehicles for a slice or smear of cheese. Not here. By incorporating cheese into the dough, along with the tiny crunch of poppy seeds, these crackers become crisp snacks that keep your fingers reaching for another and then another and, well, you know how it goes. In no time, they're history.

Crisp, fragile, practically see-through—no, the subject here isn't a character out of The Devil Wears Prada, but something just as, well, delicious: quite possibly the world's best cheese wafers. Best of all, they couldn't be any simpler to make.

These twice-baked cornmeal crackers—sturdy and delicate all at once—are a great accompaniment to lush avgolemono soup . They're also delicious on their own or with cocktails.

Don't let the delicate look of these hors d'oeuvres fool you. A touch of cayenne gives them a hint of heat that makes them a tasty accompaniment to a pre-dinner cocktail—or even a cold beer.

Think of it as a cracker version of rosemary-flecked flatbread. But these are the easiest crackers you'll ever make: Rather than cutting the dough into small pieces, you bake three large pieces, then break them into smaller ones to serve. The jagged edges invite nibbling.

These rich, clean-tasting crackers showcase the complexity of coarse sea salt, along with gentle heat from the black pepper. They go beautifully with the soup, simply dipped in or crumbled right on top.

Perfect for a Sunday-afternoon baking project, these light, crisp crackers take an hour to make (okay, maybe longer if you have a little helper).

•Look for a sharp, white Cheddar that is on the dry side, such as English Wensleydale Farmhouse Truckle or Extra Old Black Diamond Cheddar.
•It's important not to whip air into the dough — simply mix until blended.

These savory biscotti are ideal for a soiree. Their crisp texture is accented by the richness of parmesan and the bite of black pepper — perfect for nibbling in between sips of wine.

One dough yields three kinds of thin, buttery Cheddar crackers. While it's a good idea to keep appetizers to a minimum on Thanksgiving, these (along with mixed nuts in the shell) will pique everyone's appetite just enough. Make sure you sample one of each—there won't be any leftovers.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Ted Allen's The Food You Want to Eat. This is the easiest homemade cocktail snack you could ever imagine. Even better: it's probably the most delicious one in existence—salty, cheesy, and irresistible. It's basically a very cheesy cheese cracker; just a bit of shredded cheese baked with a tiny bit of flour and some herbs until it's good and crispy. (And it has the added advantage of making your house smell fantastic.) It's also a great tasting and beautiful addition to a salad, especially if you're brave enough to try this: the moment the crisps come out of the oven, while they're still hot and flexible, try rolling them around the handle of a wooden spoon to form a cylinder. They're also great looking left in their natural state of flat, irregular ovals.

Evelyn Herring of Laguna Woods, California, writes: "My mother was raised in Scotland and learned to cook at a time when quality ingredients were hard to come by. She had to be imaginative, often substituting ingredients and improvising recipes. My own cooking has become Americanized over the years, but I still rely on her recipes. They're easy and always taste as good as the first time I tried them." These savory treats, called biscuits in Scotland, go well with cocktails or tea.

This play of bitter, sweet, and crunchy goes beautifully with an aperitif or a cold glass of beer or white wine.

For these crisp cheese wafers, buy a six-ounce container of shredded Asiago cheese or a blend of Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago — you'll use the leftover cheese in the Mock Risotto .

Get ready for the most deliciously tangy adult nibbles that have ever made you lick your lips. These are not only easy to prepare, but the dough can be frozen and kept for when guests drop by unexpectedly.

Unlike the sweet animal crackers in the familiar circus box, these boast a savory cheese flavor. They're a nice accompaniment to the chicken soup with rice.