Steps

• Pour all the ingredients into a bowl and knead until you obtain a homogeneous mixture. Initially, the dough appears floury and crumbly.

• Continue working the dough, possibly transferring it to the work surface or kneading board, adding a little water at a time until the right consistency.

  👉 In total, I used 1/3 cup of water, but it’s good to adjust according to the flour’s water demand.

  Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, being careful to flour the work surface, rolling pin, and dough itself well. Or place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper, a very practical and effective method.

• Cut the dough using a star-shaped cutter (or another preferred shape). For precision, I used a ravioli cutter, among the various star-shaped cutters I have, this was the only one with a scalloped edge, and I liked the idea of making them like this, but certainly, regular cookie cutters can also be used.

  ☝ If the star does not detach using the cutter (see the first of the two photos below), it is good to lift the star with a spatula (not with your hands, or the dough will break) and gently transfer it to the baking tray.

• Herbs and spices can be added to the dough during kneading or on the surface before baking.

  I made various tests, I also tried brushing the dough with oil before baking, and even distributing paprika and curry on the surface with a moistened finger to make them adhere better. In the end, the best thing in my opinion is to add the herbs and spices to the dough, possibly dividing the dough into parts if you want to use different herbs or spices.

  Bake in the oven at 350°F for 13-15 minutes.

• Among the various aromas I tried (almost all those I had at home! mint, marjoram, cumin, curry, paprika…) the ones I preferred are: timeless oregano, always excellent everywhere, turmeric because yellow crackers make a really good impression, and my new discovery in the kitchen, lavender. 😋

  

• The idea of a Christmas Tree suddenly came to me, in these pre-Christmas days I saw many photos and videos of foods and arrangements in the shape of Christmas trees, from appetizers served on a cutting board to stuffed rolls and desserts, so I thought “why not crackers?”. 😃

  First, I did a couple of tests distributing the crackers on the kneading board, then trying some cutting boards and trays.

  To facilitate finger food, i.e., pretending to be at a buffet and wanting to pick each star with your hands without collapsing the entire tree, I thought it would be more logical to place the crackers next to each other without overlapping.

  But in the end, the dimensions of my cutting board convinced me to overlap them. Also because, in fact, the tree looks more beautiful with the crackers arranged like this, don’t you agree? 😃

  (And how does the comet star look to you? 😀).

• Finally, the decoration. Very simple. A dab of spreadable cheese and pieces of red and green bell pepper.

  The bell pepper can be used either raw or cooked, I preferred to cook it in the microwave (cooking time for a 150 g bell pepper cut into pieces: 3 and a half minutes on high power). Naturally, only a small part of the bell pepper will be used for decoration.

  

• Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year’s Eve buffet! 🎄