4tablespoons1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/4cupwater
1/4teaspoonvanilla
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and paprika. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and vanilla and mix on low speed just until the dough pulls together. (My dough was still pretty dry so I had to add slightly more water before it came together.)
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, cover with a towel so they don’t dry out. Working one piece at a time, on a lightly floured work surface, roll one of the dough pieces into a large rectangle, 1/16-inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut the rectangle into squares about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide.
Transfer the dough squares to the prepared baking sheets. You don’t need to leave much space in between the crackers-they don’t spread at all in the oven. Sprinkle lightly with salt and cover with a towel. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining 3 pieces of dough. Save all of your scraps under the towel and reroll them all at once to create a final batch of crackers.
Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, about 5-10 minutes. Check the crackers after 5 minutes to remove some of the thinner ones that are browning too quickly and return the remaining crackers to the oven to finish baking. Transfer crackers to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.