Homemade Cheese Crackers

We're trying to eat better around here. I've got an app on my phone for it. Really. I'm a total thrill at the grocery store where I scan items and the app shows me what is in the so-called food I've just scanned. We don't buy much at the grocery, but my husband likes Cheez-Its. They are not food. Honestly, I liked them too, but when I found out they have TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone - a chemical linked to causing ringing in the ears), I threw them out of the pantry and looked for a good cheese cracker recipe. I found one at inthekitchewithkath.com (and she found hers from smittenkitchen.com), and modified it ever-so-slightly to use wheat flour instead of white. I also doubled the ingredients because I knew we'd want more.

There are a couple of things you gain by making your own crackers: the delicious smell of them baking, and the satisfaction of knowing what's in your crackers because you made them. You just don't get that experience by sliding a box of pre-made crackers from a shelf. These would be really fun to make with kids. Very easy.


3 cups (12 oz.) grate extra sharp cheddar cheese
8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2-3 tbsp. milk

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Put everything except the milk into a food processor. Pulse the processor, 5 seconds at a time for 5 or 6 times until the dough is in coarse crumbs.

3. Add the milk and process until the dough gathers together in a ball. 

4. Roll the dough out on a floured board with a rolling pin that has been floured. Roll until the dough is about 1/8" thick.

5. Cut the dough into 1 inch squares. Or, you can do what I did and break out some of your smaller, cuter cookie cutters for some sassy shapes. If you want the Cheez-It style hole in the center of each cracker, poke a hole with the flat end of a wooden skewer. Don't use your purple pen.

6. PLace the crackers at least 1/4 inch apart on parchment paper on a baking sheet.

7. Bake for 12-15 mins. until the edges are just starting to brown.