Homemade Cheez-Its (Cheddar Cheese Crackers)

Homemade Cheez-Its (Cheddar Cheese Crackers)

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (GF flour mix, I prefer Bob's Red Mill GF flour mix)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (smart balance, butter alternative) 
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (Cabot, naturally lactose free cheese)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (kosher salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard (optional)
• 2 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

1. In a food processor, pulse everything except water together until it looks like course crumbs.
2. While pulsing, add in water 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Remove from food processor, wrap in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Roll out dough (quite thin--I think mine would have been slightly better had they been a bit thinner) and cut into squares. Use a toothpick, or the end of a scissors (I had to improvise, the toothpick wasn't making a big enough hole for my liking) to poke a hole in the middle of each cracker.
6. Place crackers on lined baking sheet (I used Silpat and parchment paper--both were fine). You can place them fairly close together, as they do not really expand.
7. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until crispy. Mine could have gone a bit longer--they aren't quite like the crackers you buy in the store.
8. *note: I used my food processor shredder blade to shred an 8 ounce blade of cheese. It takes about two seconds...and since I was already getting the food processor dirty, it was a no-brainer.

Notes

Adapted from Dinner Dishes and Desserts, original recipe from In Katrina's Kitchen