Homemade Cheeze-its

Becoming a mom has made me seek out healthier homemade options for my favorite snacks to feed my son. The ingredient lists on most grocery store snacks are a mile long and full of processed foods and dyes that are really unnecessary. It's hard not to want to jump to the easy box from the store, but this recipe is honestly very simple and so easy to execute!

INGREDIENTS:

• One 8-ounce block of Sharp or Extra Sharp Cheddar (coarsely shredded)

• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter (cubed, let come to room temperature)

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour

• 2 tbsp ice water

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

• Stand mixer with the paddle attachment

• Plastic wrap

• Pastry cutter (optional)

• Silicone mats (or parchment paper)

• Toothpick (optional)

• Cooling Rack

RECIPE:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the cheddar, butter, and salt until it becomes homogenous

2. On a low speed, slowly add in the flour to the dough mixture. This will create a pebbly dough that feels very dry.

3. Slowly add in the ice water and continue to mix on a slow speed until the dough forms a ball

4. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

5. While dough is refrigerating, preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Divide dough in half and roll each piece into a very thin rectangle. The thinner you can roll it, the thinner the crackers will be!

7. If you have a fluted pastry cutter, roll the cutter across the dough in lines approximately 1" apart, horizontally and vertically to create 1" squares. If you do not have a pastry cutter, simply use a sharp kitchen knife. You will not get the crimped edges, but they will taste the same! Take a toothpick and poke a small hole in the center of each square.

8. Transfer the parchment paper or silicone mats to a baking sheet and bake for approximately 15 minutes (or until the crackers are puffed and golden). Please keep an eye on these towards the end of the cooking time as it can go from golden to brown very fast.

9. Immediately transfer to a cooling rack

Notes:

You can easily swap the flavor of these by using pepperjack cheese, or white cheddar instead. These crackers should last about 1week in an airtight container in the pantry.

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