Cheez-Its, From Scratch
This weekend is for snacking. And loafing. Because the weather is garbage. It's all rainy, but not cozy up with a book kind of rainy (I just looked evuuureeewhere for that clip from The Office where Phyllis rattles off all the rainy day cliches but NBC is holding it hostage). Today was an ugly, cloudy, it-looks-like-rain-but-it's-really-only-going-to-storm-for-about-5-minutes, 9000% humidity, extra frizzy-haired, and the little boys won't go outside kind of rainy day.
So I have decided to be a complete couchy potato, eat snacks, only cook things in the crock pot, and immerse myself in all the new fall TV that's happening.
What are you watching? Looking forward to? Missing?
I am definitely missing Desperate Housewives. Sooooo sad.
But Bones is on again- looove Bones.
Caught up on Modern Family the other day- still hilarious. But I think the amount of time they devote to talking about Modern Family on GMA is a little bit creepy.
The Office is in its last season- the kids and I still like to watch this one together, but we miss Michael Scott. Parks & Recreation is entering into its 5th season, and Amy Poehler always takes the cake, though I haven't jumped into that show just yet this fall.
So with all this lazy couch surfing and TV watching going on, I decided to make us some snacks. Cheese crackery snacks to be exact.
These cheese crackers taste almost EXACTLY like Cheez-Its, but without all the preservatives, of course. And because they're orange I felt like the color was sort of appropriate for fall when all things pumpkin take center stage (Note: there is not any pumpkin in these crackers).
Speaking of pumpkin... I decided to give the Dunkin Donuts Iced Pumpkin Latte a whirl today. Except that I think the girl that works at our Dunkin Donuts must HATE coffee. Because in the three times I've visited the only location near us (which by the way is actually just a sad little drive-thru window stuck in the back of a gas station) and an ordered iced coffee, what I've actually been handed is a giant cup of sugar and milk poured over ice. The exception today was that my sugared milk was pumpkin flavored. AND I actually asked her to go easy on the sugar because my teeth still hurt from the last time I attempted a DD iced coffee (at least 3 months ago). Sorry, Dunkin Donuts. That was your last chance.
These cheese crackers are nothing like the DD sugar milk garbage. They WILL NOT disappoint.
What are you watching this fall? What's your TV snack of choice? Does your Dunkin Donuts suck as much as mine does?
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces grated parmesan
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard ( I actually used a little spicy mustard from the fridge… worked just fine)
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce (I went with Texas Pete) OR 2 tablespoons water (if you don’t want spice)
- Pre-heat the oven to 375. You can prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, but i found it unnecessary; didn’t even grease the cookie sheet.
- Put all the ingredients in your food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs have formed. Add the hot sauce (or water) in a little at a time until dough forms.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn the dough out. Divide it in half (makes it a bit easier to work with) and roll the dough out. I left mine sort of thick (see photos) because I like it when homemade stuff looks sort of rustic.
- Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the dough into squares, and then poke that signature “Cheez-It” hole in the center using a toothpick or skewer.
- Repeat the process with the second half of the dough. Line your crackers up on your prepared baking sheet; they won’t expand like cookies so there’s no need to leave gaps in between.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes; they’ll be just a tad bit golden.
- Eat ‘em warm or let them cool.
(from THIS recipe at Creative Noshing)
Enjoy!
Just made these. Wonderful! Thank you!
Thanks for letting me know Sonya! So glad you liked them! Have a great weekend!
How can I make this recipe gluten free?
Lynn
Oh-- great question! I am definitely not an expert in gluten free baking though! You would want to substitute the all-purpose flour for something similar -- oat flour is a good sub for regular flour, and if you use gluten free oats that should do the trick. Oat flour is an all purpose flour sub at a 1:1 ratio. So for one cup all purpose you'd take 1 cup of oats and grind them in the blender or food processor. One of my favorite gluten free resources is Michelle at My Gluten Free Kitchen. She has successfully adapted several of my recipes to fit her gluten free lifestyle, and her baking... I mean it is out of this world awesome. You can find her here: http://mygluten-freekitchen.com/ or here: https://www.facebook.com/MyGlutenfreeKitchenblog -- I know she'd be glad to help!!!
We've been trying to eat healthier for a year now. Easy switch for my husband and I, harder for the youngest. She's pretty good about eating what we do but does love her gold fish crackers and cheez-it's. Her cheez-it addiction is the 4 Cheese one. What would you do to the above recipe to change it to be like that flavor?
Hi, Kim! Great question! I looked up the 4 Cheese version and they are all "Italian" - I hope that is the version your daughter likes. The cheeses buried in the middle of their ingredient list are Monterey Jack, Romano, Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Asiago. This recipe calls for a total of 8 ounces of cheese and there are plenty of cheese blends available out there-- I would reduce the Parmesan by half (to 2 ounces) and then use 2 ounces of Monterey Jack, 2 ounces of Mozzarella, and 2 ounces of Romano. Keep in mind that Asiago or Romano cheeses are often mixed in with Parmesan or Mozzarella. Just play with it a little-- I don't think you can go wrong!
In place of the paprika you might try a little dried oregano to give it that little bit of Italian flavored oomph. Parsley in place of the ground mustard maybe.
Let me know how you like them! Yay for eating healthy whole foods and homemade snacks!
My daughter and I both have a slight cheez-it addiction. I will definitely be trying these this week. Thanks!!
Just made these with my kiddos (because it is the first day of summer vacation and they are bored already!) and we love them! I doubled the recipe and used half whole wheat flour and then when I rolled them out, I used more grated Parmesan instead of flour. Absolutely perfect! Thanks for the idea!
Hi, Janicca! So glad you liked them!! I am making a summer kitchen list!!! (my guys are out next week)
Love your adjustments-- especially the extra Parmesan! Totally doing that next time!
Thank you for the recipe for the crackers. I enjoy making crackers. Tip : I always roll mine out on parchement paper the size cut to fit my cookie sheet. Then I cut the crackers with a pastry wheel and prick with a fork. Then slide the whole thing on to the cookie sheet and bake. Saves time and easy to handle then picking up all those little dough crackers and put on cookie sheet. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Oooooh! Smart! I don't actually have a pastry wheel, but I'm sure I could make do with something else. Thanks!
These look delicious. They actually look better than cheese its.
Heyyyyy! They actually are! A tiny bit time consuming but really super easy. I literally had to tape the box shut so I wouldn't eat all the ones I made Stephanie.
wow
Thanks!
Perfect snack!
I remember Cheese-Its! My mom used to buy them by the Costco box and we'd just plow straight through...so delicious. I am impressed Heather...these look identical!
These days I've been watching Gallery Girls. Not sure why I am obsessed with this show, maybe because of the NYC scene? It's almost over though so I'll have to find something else soon!
I mailed these cheese crackers with some roasted tomato basil soup to my sister, and I had to be quick about sealing the box up because they were soooo good and I have no willpower. My dad used to bring home Cheez-Its as a snack sometimes. I always loved them as a kid. What is Gallery Girls? It sounds fun, like in my head I am picturing a Real Housewives thing with art gallery society types and then the occasional accidentally successful and completely off-the-chain artist (like the ones I went to art school with that I know are currently wandering the streets of NYC all talented and crazy) to jump in. If that's not a show it freaking should be!!
A little more butter and flour and you have cheese straws! I am all about the NCISs and the CSIs. And Person of Interest...it's the extremist version of the Big Brother conspiracy and I dig it. I used to be big on Private Practice but after everyone married or had sex with everyone else in the cast I quit it. I prefer the shows that are not soap operas - I can watch an episode and not be lost.
All the Big Brother stuff makes me suuuuper paranoid. It kind of freaks me out that people are so sneaky and mean... my brain just DOES NOT work that way. I love crime shows... I guess that's why I love Bones so much. Lots of days I put on all that true crime stuff that comes on Discovery and listen to it while I clean, but if it's on too much, that freaks me out a little bit, too! Private Practice is okay. I'm with you- the first couple of seasons were really good but I never bought the Kate Walsh + Taye Diggs romance nonsense. Noooo chemistry.
These look like a crazy addictive snack 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Yup.
Can't wait to try this...!
They are soooo easy and really good! Lemme know how it works out!
I just saw these on Pinterest and I was like, 'damn those look good' who doesn't love cheez-its anyways lol YUM! Anyways YES all DD's are the same! When I used to drink iced coffee it was like coffee flavored cream haha Of course I loved it though but honestly there was probably only like 1/4 cup coffee to 1 cup cream, blueberry (my favorite) flavoring and sugar...over ice of course! It's like crack! Your best bet is to get a plain iced coffee and everything on the side so you have to add it yourself. Ok so I don't currently watch any of your shows but I'm sure they're fabulous!! I'm looking forward to Homeland and Dexter starting tomorrow and also I'm currently becoming obsessed with Community (I'm starting from season 1 however) and I love The Real Housewives of New Jersey...but that just ended. The only other thing I'm currently watching is Long Island Medium, love that show. All my other reality shows ended haha P.S. I hate rained in crappy days and frizzy hair too!!! haha
Annnnd you re-pinned them, right? 🙂
There is another Dunkin Donuts like 30 minutes from here and their coffee is not like milky sugar crack. It's ACTUALLY coffee. The problem is that if I'm getting on the interstate to drive away from Nowheresville then I'm going to STARBUCKS. No doubt about that one. I've been wanting to check out Homeland; I've never seen it. And I used to LOVE Dexter, but we don't pay for TV service so I got behind a couple years back. I watch stuff on a mish mash combo of Netflix, Hulu Plus and Project Free TV, which explains why I was never able to get into any of The Housewives' series (I got no way to watch!!), but my sister LOVES them. I haven't watched Long Island Medium yet, but the commercials have me intrigued!
My hair is so freaking out of control right now. OMG, girl, you just don't know. I wish I were trendy enough to pull off a beanie or something... I think it would help lol.