With only four basic ingredients, and a little bit of ice water, you are well on your way to enjoying these homemade cheeze-its. They’re the perfect blend of cheddar in a crisp cracker, that melts in your mouth, and leaves a light sheen on the fingers. Skip the trip to the store, and make your own instead!
Sons # 4 is going through another phase. He has lots of phases, which I guess is normal as he grows and is constantly trying to figure himself out. It’s a big ide world out there and he’s got to find his place in it after all.
I generally enjoy seeing where the next ‘phase’ will take us. Although, the temper tantrum ‘dance’ phase that arrives with his fourth birthday, I’m not real fond of. That is just a phase, right?
Any way, his latest thing is bringing me boxes and requesting I read off of the ingredients list. He finds it hysterical when I read the made-up words. The funnier they sound, or the more time I spend tripping over them trying to pronounce them, reduces him to side-stitching, doubled over fits of laughter.
And, no, despite a pinky promise, complete with a cross my heart and hope to die, he still does not believe his ‘silly’ Mommy that the funny words are actual, real words.
Recently he brought me a cheez-it box and had a melt down in aisle 5 after listening to me stumble all around ‘Oleoresin’. Monosodium Glutemate is another particularly fun tongue twister to him.
After surveying all these different prepackaged ingredients lists, I found I didn’t really want the cheez-its that bad, and removed them from our cart. Really, I just didn’t want anything I couldn’t pronounce, let alone recognize, going in the sons diet, if I could help it.
But after I got home, I felt guilty and a little sad because I really did want a cheez-it, or something crunchy and cheesy. A family friend came to my rescue by sharing her simple recipe for homemade cheeze-it crackers.
After trying my friend’s recipe, I discovered that the perfect Cheez-It cracker has superior crunch, unmistakable cheese flavor that doesn’t devolve into pure saltiness, and just enough grease to leave a light sheen on your fingers. And, most importantly, it doesn’t even come from a box.
Other Snack Ideas You Might Also Enjoy:
- Alabama Fire Crackers
- Roast Beef & Horseradish Dijon Cream Cheese Snack Crackers
- Tomato Cracker Salad
- Nonna’s Homemade Broccoli Hummus Dip
- Pizza Pinwheels
Homemade Cheeze- Its
Ingredients
- 1 8 oz block extra sharp cheddar cheese coarsely shredded
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter softened
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tbsp ice water
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cheddar, butter, and salt until soft and homogenous. Add the flour and mix on low speed; the dough will be dry and pebbly. Slowly add the water and continue to mix as the dough coalesces into a mass.
- Pat the dough into a disk, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375˚. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.
- Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each into a very thin (1/8 inch or less) 10×12-inch rectangle. Use small, possibly extra small, cookie cutters to cut out crackers in any desired shape. Or, if you want a more 'authentic' look, use a fluted pastry cutter, cut the rectangles into 1-inch squares, then transfer to the baking sheets. Use the tip of a chopstick to punch a hole into the center of each square.
- Bake for 17 minutes or until puffed and browning at the edges. Watch carefully, as the high fat content of the crackers makes it a fine line between golden delicious and burnt. Immediately move the crackers to racks to cool.
recipe & pictures updated 1/29/19
