Cheddar Cheese Crackers

For the last couple months, my husband and I have been trying really hard to make all of the food that we would like to eat (mainly as a way to eat less since it’s a lot easier to eat food when all you have to do is open a box or a bag versus spending the time to make it).  Normally, I crave sweets, but I had a craving for something savory, so I made some cheddar cheese crackers.  These crackers are so easy to make and the addition of the cayenne pepper gives the crackers a little kick, which I love. 

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Ingredients

• 2 cups (8oz) finely grated sharp Cheddar cheese¹
• 1 stick (113g) unsalted, room temperature butter
• 1½ cups (215g) all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp (5.4g) salt
• ¼ tsp (0.5g) cayenne pepper (optional)
• A few tablespoons of water (as necessary)

Making the Crackers

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a medium-sized mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) to form a cohesive dough. Add water a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together.  As soon as the dough comes together, turn the mixer off and pour the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and use your hand to bring the dough together into a disc. 

Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and put in the freezer for 30 minutes.  If you leave it in the freezer for longer, just make sure to take it out 30 minutes before baking so it is easier to roll out. 

Preheat the oven to 400°F

Next, roll out the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap to approximately 1/16-inch thick.  I use this rolling pin with rolling guide rings to make sure that the dough is an even thickness.  Use cutters to cut fun shapes or use a pizza cutter and make strips horizontally and vertically to make squares.  I used a small fluted square cookie cutter for my crackers.  I used the one inch cutter from this set.

Dock all of the crackers with a fork so they don’t puff too much when baking.  Docking means that you will poke the crackers with the tines of the fork to make small holes. 

Place the crackers on a parchment lined baking sheet leaving about ½-inch between the crackers. This recipe does not spread much so they can be pretty close together without touching while baking. If the dough gets soft while rolling/cutting (i.e., when you pick up the dough and it falls over rather than holding its shape), just put it back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes until the dough firms back up.

Baking the Crackers

Bake the crackers for approximately 10 minutes or until they are just beginning to brown.  This baking time will change depending on the size of cracker you make (i.e., based on the size of the cutter).  Cook a few test crackers to determine how long the crackers will need to bake.  I like to rotate the tray front to back halfway through baking to ensure an even bake.  Remove the cheddar cheese crackers from the oven and let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.  As tempting as it is to eat the crackers immediately, let the crackers cool completely.  As they cool, they will get crispier (i.e., a typical cracker texture). 

Notes:

1. Use a high-quality cheese when making this recipe.  The primary flavor of the cracker is the cheese so the better the cheese tastes, the better the crackers will taste.