5-ingredient homemade cheez-it crackers;

As we now officially have a toddler in the house…that means some days we subsist purely on snacks! And who doesn’t love cheez-it crackers?! They’re great and convenient and easy to reach for. But this homemade cheez-it crackers recipe only takes 5 ingredients, and you’ll feel good knowing the ingredients going into your toddler’s (or adult’s) snacks. Definitely good for adults too–honestly, our son took a little bit to warm up to these, so I ended up eating most of them–hah! More for me.

These homemade cheese crackers are surprisingly easy and stackably good. I just pop handfuls of them in my mouth at a time and I don’t regret it. They’re crisp with an extra sharpness of real cheddar cheese and you can definitely taste the fresh cheesy flavor in these homemade cheese crackers.

The star of the show here is cheddar cheese. You’ll want to use a sharp, orange cheddar cheese as the base. The sharpness imparts more flavor and stands up to the other ingredients and baking in the oven.

We’re talking classic block of orange cheddar cheese from the grocery. You can get fancy, but keep in mind the moisture and fat content changes, especially with some of the fancier brands of cheddar cheese, so your mileage may vary.

Use a fresh block of sharp cheddar and grate it yourself. Do not use pre-shredded cheese as the anti-caking agents will get in the way of texture.

secret to success

But do not—I repeat—DO NOT use preshredded cheese for this. Nothing wrong with preshredded, I keep it stocked in my fridge at all times But homemade cheez-it crackers is not the recipe for it. The anti caking agents add extra dryness and may prevent your dough from forming properly. You want that moisture from the freshly shredded block cheese.

I have heard you can rinse your cheese under water to remove the anti-caking agents? But honestly I haven’t tried and I won’t bother as that could also introduce unexpected levels of moisture from residue water. Just get the block of cheese and shred it. I cheat and use a stand mixer attachment for this because it is a lot of cheese. But if you do it by hand you get a good arm workout. So reach for those gainz.

These crackers have no leavening agent so they don’t really expand during baking. Which is good news since it means you can pack them pretty tight on a sheet pan to bake.

secret to success

When it comes to rolling out the dough, I personally think thinner is better. I made a double batch of these last time and so got tired and burnt out on cutting all the shapes so these are a little thicker than I prefer. But they’re just as tasty so just go with your personal preference.

You can cut your homemade cheez-its into any shapes you want. I started off with tiny little cutters from my son’s kitchen kit. There’s little rabbits and teddy bears and flowers oh my! But it quickly became veeeeery tedious. They’re super cute but by the time I got to the back half my back was screaming for relief from being bent over the dough so I opted for a more classic cheez-it cracker shape.

Using tiny cookie cutters make for adorable shapes, but be warned—it is a lot faster to cut squares over popping out hundreds of little cookie crackers.

secret to success

For inspiration from the classic cheez-it boxes, I used a squiggle cutter to cut strips and then a grid and then use a chopstick to poke holes in the middle. It went MUCH faster thank goodness, though I have to admit the small size of the cutter shapes made them extra crunchy so they were still my favorite. Just prepare yourself with enough time and patience if you want to use a small cutter like these.

The strips to cheez-it shape is much faster, and unlike the cutter method, there’s little to no waste so you don’t have to perpetually gather scraps and re-roll them for the next batch of cutting. It’s much quicker (but less cute!).

secrets to success;

Want all the best tips and tricks to make this recipe a success? Check out the blog post above to find out more!

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more recipes;

Looking for other homemade snacks? Best with Chocolate has got you covered!

• Check out this super easy bloomin’ pull-apart cheesy garlic bread for a quick and delicious appetizer or afternoon snack! Ooey gooey cheese and an explosion of flavor in every bite.
• Strawberry apple hand pies are a delicious fresh fruit filling made from apples and strawberries, all wrapped in a flaky, buttery crust and made into the perfect handheld snack. Even better if you use them with vine-ripened strawberries if you go strawberry picking this summer! Check out my favorite summer strawberry recipes.
• For a slightly sweet treat, try homemade gluten-free oat flour graham crackers. They’re so so so much better than storebought, plus they’re simply divine when you make homemade marshmallow s’mores.