Cheese crackers

One day while blog browsing I found a recipe for cheese crackers from Home Cooking in Montana. I knew immediately that I needed to make them. Soon.

I told one of my Thursday story time moms about these crackers a few weeks ago. She was wondering where they were on the blog, as she wanted to make them too. That was all the motivation I needed to get these delicious treats made. It also helped that the little Witch was a good witch and took a nap which gave Mama Witch time to roll the dough out.

I've never made crackers before so I learned a few things while making these:
1. Bake them until they are nicely browned on the bottoms. This will also help in making them nice & crispy. It took 19 minutes at my altitude.
2. Roll them thin and evenly
3. Keep the dough cold! As it warms up it gets sticky and likes to stick to your cutting wheel. Not as much fun as you'd think.
4. Make a double batch because these are amazing!

Cheese crackers
makes about 16 oz of crackers (16 servings approx)
8 oz cheddar cheese shredded
1 c flour
3/4 t salt
dash paperika
dash cayenne pepper
3-4 T water
4 T cold butter cut into cubes

In the work bowl of a food processor pulse the flour, seasonings and salt together.

Pulse in butter until it resembles coarse meal

Pulse the cheese in 4 installments, process until its looks coarse meal

Add the water 1 T at a time. Start with 3 and slowly add the 4th if needed. Pulse in 2 second bursts until dough can be pressed into a ball.

Press dough into plastic wrap, forming a disc. Refrigerate for 20 min to 24 hours. The cooling process allows the butter and cheese to solidify producing a cracker that's crispier. It also makes rolling out easier when the dough is very cold.

Roll dough out to 1/8 inch.
~*~Kitchen Witch Tip: Next time you're in your local kitchen gadget store look for rolling pin bands/guides. They are thick bands, like a rubber band, that come in different sizes so you get the perfect thickness when rolling out dough. I found mine for $3.~*~

Transfer the rolled out dough to a sheet pan and cut into desired shape, or simply into squares, using a pizza cutter.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until the crackers are browned on the bottoms and puffed. Start to watch them after 10 minutes (peek at the bottoms) as cooking times & ovens vary. Remove crackers from tray and cool.

UPDATE: after making these I wanted to post a few updates on my finding, etc.
1. make sure you roll them thin enough OR bake them a touch bit longer if they are on the thick side. As they cool they tend to get softer (the condensation from cooling causes this) and the next day they are pretty limp, and not cracker like. The ones that I baked longer didn't have this issue as much so make sure you bake them until they are nice & golden (around 19 to 20 min)
2. if you have any left over and they are soft, pop them back into a 350 oven for 5 min or so, it'll crisp them up again.
3. make a double batch! These didn't last long here at all!

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
16 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 111.0
Total Fat 7.7 g
Saturated Fat 4.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.2 g
Cholesterol 22.7 mg
Sodium 197.6 mg
Potassium 23.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 6.1 g
Dietary Fiber 0.2 g
Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 4.4 g