My dad’s birthday was a few weeks ago and in addition to the french burnt peanuts I made for him, I also made some homemade cheez-its.
Cheez-its are his all time favorite snack. I mean who can resist a cheez-it, really? They are the perfect cracker; except that it is completely conceivable for an otherwise sensible and health conscious adult to consume the entire box in one day (or sitting). They even put “get your own box” on the back of the box………they know. Dirty Kellogg.
But with each box having more than 16 ingredients that I can’t pronounce, including the dreaded partially hydrogenated palm oil….and at around 2,000 calories, almost 100 grams of fat and 2800 grams of sodium per box (a serving size is 27 crackers….yeah right….who are they kidding? Have you ever counted out 27 cheez -its? I have and it is a sad, sad little pile.)
I never really considered crackers something I could make myself. And then I made teething biscuits with great success – and they were cracker-ish. Then I saw Melissa’s recipe for graham crackers last year. (I still need to make those.) It was time to try out the cheese its.
So, in my search for recipes I found a few great options. But, many included some sort of cheese powder, but that seemed hard to find and less healthy. (might as well buy a box). So I kept looking.
Martha had a good looking recipe. But in perfect Martha style it had more than 10 (some quite fancy) ingredients. Not simple enough. And then my issue of ReadyMade had a cheese-it taste off and a recipe online. Five simple ingredients. Yeah! Plus it was the winner of the taste off. Getting closer. I found this recipe on the Thin Chef. Perfect.
In the end, however, I chose to use this recipe from “From Away.com”. Mainly because he called Cheez-Its his dark master. And that made me laugh so hard.
Here is his recipe…. (and it is almost identical to the ReadyMade recipe and the Thin Chef recipe – so they must be onto something.)
Homemade Cheez-It Crackers
What you need:
- 1 cup flour
- 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small squares
- 1 (8-ounce) bag grated extra-sharp 2% Cheddar cheese (preferably orange)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
What you do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in food processor, and pulse until crumbly. Add cold water, a tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together. Form into ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Place dough between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper, and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet, and, using pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into 1 inch squares. Sprinkle with kosher salt and bake for 25 minutes. Test for crispiness; crackers may take a few minutes more to finish crisping. Remove from oven when crisp and just starting to brown. Let cool and serve.
They are so, so good. And I know what’s in them! š It took about 1 minute to make the dough. Then you just chill it, roll it out, cut ’em up and bake. YUM! They are so good right out of the oven. I wish I had a cute little pasta cutter to make the edges more cheez-it like. Next time. š
ohhhhhhhhhh, they do look yummy! I am a big Cheez-it fan, too. (And the boys, of course.) Definitely have to try this easy peasy recipe. Kudos.
Just made ’em…yummy!! I used whole wheat flour and they still taste just like cheese-its!! I do not have a food processor š so I used my magic bullet to mix the ingredients (I had to do half at a time) and then when adding the water (ending up being about 2.5 Tablespoons) I just used my hands to make a ball. Easy, fast, healthy and delicious!!! Thanks for the recipe!!
oh man. i have forbidden my pregnant self from buying ANY MORE BOXES. somehow they seem to always end up next to my bed…calling to me in the dark of night…
and suddenly the box is empty.
but i can make my own??? oh boy oh boy.
this sounds very dangerous.
oh man! i can’t wait to try these!! we love cheese its but never buy then for the reasons you mentioned. and I LOVE that I have all of the ingredients on hand!
This looks delicious, thanks for sharing!!
Best,
Gloria
Made these a few weeks ago for the 3rd time! This time I wanted hot and spicy, so I used 3 tablespoons of the green hot pepper sauce and about 2 tables spoons of water…delectable! (Oh and I used whole wheat flour, they turned out a littler darker than desired but tasted great!)
I LOVE IT! I’m so making these. Um. When I have time to make something for fun. Stupid work obligations.
So much fun. Thanks for sharing!
Those sound and look wonderful! Sounds like going with the guy who considers Cheese-its his “Dark Master” was the right choice. I can’t wait to try!
jenn
Yum, will definitely have to try this soon!
Cheez-It’s…my dark master. Hilariously funny because it’s so true! I love that you’ve posted this recipe. I look forward to trying it with.spelt flour to see how it turns out.
Just saw this on pinterest. I might die. Cheezits are my LOVE. I mean, I absolutely am obsessed with them…and I only let myself eat them if I’m on vacation. ha! I’m trying these for sure!
Thank you so much for this recipe. My little one is obsessed with cheese its so I’m totally making these!
I just made these with Pamela’s Gluten Free Artisan Flour Blend and they are AMAZING! I have missed Cheez-Its so much! Thanks for the great recipe!
I am so excited to try these! Do you know how long they last once made? Have you tried making a bunch and freezing them? I’m getting ready to have a baby and want plenty of snacks around for my other kiddos and my husband. I’m trying to do a bunch of bulk cooking and would love to add these to my list!
My family loves them, so they don’t last too long around here. I keep them in a ziplock bag and they last about a week and then get kind of soft, but we eat them soft too! Maybe soft isn’t the right word….but, not crunchy. I haven’t tried freezing them. Let me know!
If they get a bit stale, but them in the dehydrator or oven for a bit to freshen them up. Works for all types of crispies.
I made these using Bob’s Red Mill gluten free “baking mix” for those of us who are gluten intolerant. still absolutely wonderful. i also sprinkled nutritional yeast with the kosher salt. i think next time, more yeast, less salt. so good. dang it, now i have to go make these again. oh well, here i come heaven
Oh thank you for sharing that! What a great idea. I have some gluten free friends and I might have to just whip up a batch for them!
you are so welcome, i’ve done some amazing things with that bob’s red mill all purpose gluten free flour “baking mix” is what they call it. i’ve made ravioli’s with it that were sooooo good
I just made these…so delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
YAY. Thanks for telling me. They are so good.
the last 3 times i’ve made these, i’ve done everything exactly the same, and they have turned out not good. I mean the flavour is perfect, the texture is ok, but they are heavy, greasy, and the bottoms lift off like a bubble is under them. any suggestions as to what I am doing? is my oven too hot or is it because i’ve just been doing them right on the pan with no paper? eating them anyways, but want them right again
This recipe looks amazing, and yes I am a cheez it lover. One box usually lasts one day with me in the house. I’s wondering if anyone has tried this with almond flour, as I am on low carb lifestyle. Maybe I can do half flour and half almond flour. Thanks for bringing up this wonderful recipe.
These turned out AWESOME! Thanks so much for posting! I will definitely be making the again!
Thank you so much for the comment. I am glad you like them!