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homemade cheese-its

February 25, 2011 by Erin 25 Comments



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! 🙂 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. 🙂


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Filed Under: Recipes, Snacks

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Comments

  1. Tracy says

    February 26, 2011 at 1:08 pm

    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.

    Reply
  2. Heather V says

    March 9, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    Just made ’em…yummy!! I used whole wheat flour and they still taste just like cheese-its!! I do not have a food processor 🙁 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!!

    Reply
  3. the momma (aka Shannon) says

    March 17, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    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.

    Reply
  4. jeana says

    April 4, 2011 at 8:16 pm

    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!

    Reply
  5. Gloria (The Little Red House with the White Porch) says

    April 23, 2011 at 11:27 pm

    This looks delicious, thanks for sharing!!
    Best,
    Gloria

    Reply
  6. Betsy says

    May 16, 2011 at 6:11 pm

    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!)

    Reply
  7. Eat the Love says

    May 17, 2011 at 8:45 am

    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!

    Reply
  8. Jenn Erickson says

    May 18, 2011 at 11:29 pm

    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

    Reply
  9. Aimee says

    May 19, 2011 at 12:58 am

    Yum, will definitely have to try this soon!

    Reply
  10. Janet A. says

    January 2, 2012 at 5:17 am

    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.

    Reply
  11. Maren says

    January 23, 2012 at 12:42 am

    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!

    Reply
  12. devonevans says

    February 10, 2012 at 6:49 pm

    Thank you so much for this recipe. My little one is obsessed with cheese its so I’m totally making these!

    Reply
  13. Gina says

    January 17, 2013 at 6:42 pm

    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!

    Reply
  14. jenn says

    February 13, 2014 at 9:22 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      February 13, 2014 at 4:35 pm

      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!

      Reply
    • Terri says

      January 2, 2015 at 4:08 pm

      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.

      Reply
  15. kristi says

    April 17, 2014 at 10:11 am

    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

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 19, 2014 at 9:04 am

      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!

      Reply
      • kristi says

        April 19, 2014 at 4:09 pm

        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

        Reply
  16. Kim says

    August 15, 2014 at 6:57 pm

    I just made these…so delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      August 18, 2014 at 3:10 pm

      YAY. Thanks for telling me. They are so good.

      Reply
      • kristi says

        August 18, 2014 at 3:55 pm

        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

        Reply
  17. Karen Ray says

    September 3, 2014 at 9:46 am

    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.

    Reply
  18. Alyssa Erickson says

    August 7, 2016 at 5:42 pm

    These turned out AWESOME! Thanks so much for posting! I will definitely be making the again!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      August 8, 2016 at 2:19 pm

      Thank you so much for the comment. I am glad you like them!

      Reply

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