I have been sitting in front of my computer for a full 5 minutes trying to figure out how to introduce these crackers. Nothing is quite cutting it so let’s just go with: These crackers are yummy, make them right now!!
In all seriousness, these crackers are really good. I’ve made cheese crackers before but was never overwhelmed with warm & fuzzy feelings for them.
Today I set out to recreate the cheese cracker recipe into something that balances natural ingredients with cost but is still so yummy the kids beg for more.
Well, maybe not BEG…but anyhow, here is the recipe I came up with. My kids LOVED the crackers, my 8 year old said they taste just like Cheez-Its(R). I have to agree, they taste like those little squares but bake up like Goldfish(R) crackers.
NOTES:
-I put some soy sauce in for flavor. You can substitute Worcestershire sauce or tamari if you’d rather, or if soy exposure is a concern you can skip it altogether but taste the dough to see if you want to add more salt.
-This recipe calls to refrigerate the dough for an hour but this is optional. If you’re in a hurry you can bake the crackers right away. Chilling the dough will make it easier to work with, a lot easier, so don’t skip this step unless you have to. You can also make this dough a day ahead of time.
-I used unbleached all purpose flour but you can substitute some whole wheat if you want. I have never cooked with non-wheat flours so I don’t know if they will work.
This Big Happy’s Cheese Crackers
(makes about 6 dozen small crackers)
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp butter (cold)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup water
-Preheat oven to 350.
-Add flour, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder & butter to food processor. Pulse until everything is well-mixed and the butter is in little clumps.
-Add the cheese in small amounts, pulsing to mix each time.
-When all of the cheese has been added set the food processor to on and slowly add the soy sauce and water. Keep processing until the cheese forms a large clump of dough, this will take several minutes and you may have to stop and scrape the sides. If your dough hasn’t formed after 3 minutes add the tiniest amount of extra water and process again.
-Turn the dough out onto plastic wrap and tightly wrap. Store in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
-Roll the dough out (directly into a greased cookie sheet if possible!) to about 1/8″ and use a knife or pizza cutter to slice. I like to use the handle of a small kid’s paintbrush to put little holes in mine, it helps them to cook faster and keeps them from rising too much.
-Bake for 15-30 minutes. I found that mine were done to my liking after 25 minutes, but they were on the thicker side.
How long will they stay fresh??
I suggest you eat them the day you make them…otherwise they will get moist if you store them overnight. If you want to store them roll them a little thinner, cook them a little longer, and let them cool for a few hours before you store them!