Homemade Frico (Baked Cheese Crisps)

I’ve had frico on my To Do list for some time, sharing the recipe that is, not making them. They’ve been part of my cooking tricks for a while now. Last week, while shopping at Whole Foods, I noticed a little pack of frico, and looked at the price out of curiosity—I should’ve had something soft to catch me before I hit the floor (insert dramatic pause). They were $25 per pound. Let’s do the math here. Pecorino Locatelli cheese usually comes in around $15 per pound. I make my frico with a blend of cheddar cheese to save money. That costs $8 to $10 per pound. If I’m doing a 1:1 ratio of cheeses, that puts my homemade frico at $12 per pound for ingredients.

 

As you’ll see in the video below, they’re incredibly easy to make. The key is using a fine grater, like the microplane featured here (it’s also what I use to grate my nutmeg). I use a blend of Pecorino and cheddar, as mentioned, but if you want a pure Pecorino cheese crisp, then go for it. That’s the beauty of cooking from scratch; you can do what works best for your taste, and your budget.

 

If you prefer silicone liners over parchment paper, that’s fine, too. Parchment paper is one of those items I absolutely adore. Silicone is fine for candy making, and even these crisps, but when it comes to cookies, and lining loaf pans, parchment is king in my house. One thing that always irks me is the price of it here in the U.S. When I went to Paris every few months, I used to stock up on it—it was less than $3 a box there. Same goes for when I visit Montreal. The Italian shop in Petite Italie, which the name is totally escaping my mind at the moment, sells a brand I like for about $3 a roll, too. And brands really do vary when it comes to parchment paper. Some have a waxy coating that I don’t like at all, especially when using it to bake cookies (it affects the overall crispness of the cookie bottoms).

Okay, well, I’ve completely lost track that this was a post about making frico, but now you know all you need to about my parchment paper obsession. Hope you enjoy the video!

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