Cheddar Cheese Crackers

Several weeks ago we decided the time had finally come to start repainting the interior of our house. One room at a time. The last time all of the walls got a fresh coat of paint was when we moved in almost fourteen years ago. Professional painters were hired to paint back then. Today the painter responsible for painting the house (one room at time) is someone I am affectionately referring to as Eldon. For those of you who remember the television show Murphy Brown you will remember Eldon, the painter who never seemed to finish painting. While my Eldon is taking painstaking care to make all of the necessary wall repairs and give them a professional finish, each room is taking about a week to get done. Which means I am living in a constant state of disarray. A little more than a week ago, Eldon starting painting the kitchen. Which meant all baking and cooking came to a complete halt. Maybe it was my not so subtle whining, but I was given a two hour baking window over the weekend. So I managed to make these incredibly delicious Cheddar Cheeses Crackers. And for the first time in a week all felt right in my world in spite of living in a state of chaos.

Way back in April 2016 I shared a recipe for some Rosemary Cheddar Crackers. Maybe they looked tedious to make because they were cut into little shapes. Maybe they didn't grab your attention because we weren't living in a pandemic and there were no shortages of any kind at the grocery store.  Or maybe the timing for sharing the recipe was a bit off. Whatever the reason or reasons, I decided to make a few minor changes to the recipe (mostly in technique), cut them into squares (less tedious), and now call them Cheddar Cheese Crackers (I would call them Cheez-Its, but that name has already been taken). With the upcoming holidays, some great miniseries to binge watch. and the current charcuterie board craze, this may be the perfect time to be making these Cheddar Cheese Crackers. Actually it is the perfect time to make them!

A homemade cheese cracker is almost always better than ones store bought. And these are definitely better than the ones out of the box you grew up eating!

With just six ingredients and some flaky sea salt, you can create the cheesiest crackers to snack on, to put on your charcuterie board, or to package up and share with friends. For the best, most mouth watering, cheesiest crackers use a good quality sharp cheddar cheese. A small amount of cayenne or Aleppo pepper further enhances the sharpness of the cheese flavor. There are a few ingredient differences between these crackers and the Rosemary Cheddar Crackers. These were made with a European style butter in order to add to the richness of the cracker. In addition to the Kosher salt in the dough, these were topped with some flaky sea salt. Instead of Aleppo pepper I used some cayenne pepper (although either would work). Lastly, I used a yellow sharp aged cheddar instead of white aged cheddar (even though kinds of cheddar would work well). While the changes weren't that significant, they all made for an even tastier cracker.

Chilling time on the dough was reduced from an hour to 30-45 minutes. And instead of rolling out the dough to an 1/8" thickness, these were rolled out to about 1/6" thickness. 

Rather than use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes, I used a ruler and a knife (a pizza cutter would work too) to create one inch squares this time. By cutting the dough into squares a lot less dough is wasted and/or needing to be rerolled out (the less you roll out the scraps of dough, the better chance your crackers will not be tough). Making holes in the crackers helps to release some of the 'steam' during the baking process as well as prevents your crackers from having bubbles. A cocktail straw was used to make the holes in the crackers but you could easily use the bottom of a skewer to make them.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (F) so your baking trays go into a hot versus warm or cold oven.  Baking time for the crackers ranges from 16-20 minutes. For a crispier cracker your baking time will most likely be closer to the 20 minute mark. However, because all ovens bake up differently start checking your crackers at the 12 minute mark. Let your baked crackers cool on the baking sheet. 

Feel free to add some herbs (no more than 2 teaspoons if using rosemary, no more than 1 teaspoon of black pepper instead of cayenne/Aleppo pepper, or no more than 1 Tablespoon of fresh herbs) to your dough or use something else other than a sharp cheddar. Please note that harder, drier cheeses may require a little more water to form the dough and softer cheeses may require less. At the moment I am smitten with the flavor of cheddar in these crackers and I am certain you will be too!

I loved these Cheddar Cheese Crackers so much they might find their way into some of the holiday boxes being sent out this year. A little something savory to balance out all of the sweetness. With any luck I will have my kitchen back well before I make a Thanksgiving dinner for two or start baking for the holidays. Maybe I should bribe Eldon with a few more of these melt in our mouth, cheesy, snappy Cheddar Cheese Crackers to speed things up a bit.

Recipe

Cheddar Cheese Crackers

Makes approximately 82 one inch crackers

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, room temperature (if at all possible, use a European style butter)

8 ounces (227g) good quality, sharp cheddar cheese (use at least a 2 year old cheddar for a more cheesier cracker)

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or Aleppo pepper

1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough

3 Tablespoons cold water

Flaky sea salt for finishing (e.g., Maldon Sea Salt)

Directions

1. Place butter and cheese, in the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse to combine.

2. Add the flour, salt, and cayenne/Aleppo pepper. Process until mixture resembles a coarse, sandy meal texture.
3. Add 3 Tablespoon of cold water. Pulse until mixture starts to come together in a ball. Do not over process or you will create a tough textured cracker.
4. Flatten dough into a four or five inch disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Lightly flour the surface used for rolling out the dough. Roll out to approximately 1/6" thickness. Note: Alternately roll the dough out to a thickness somewhere between 1/8" and 1/6".

7. Cut the dough into desired 1" shapes (using cookie cutters, pizza cutter, knife, etc.) Note: I used a ruler and a knife to create 1" squares.

8. Press 2 holes into each square/shape using a cocktail straw or end of a skewer.

9. Place crackers on the parchment paper lined baking sheets, leaving at least 1/2" between the crackers.

10. Sprinkle each square/shape with flaky sea salt.

11. Put one pan in oven and bake for 16-20 minutes or until a deep golden brown. Rotate pan midway through the baking process and start checking for doneness at 12 minutes. (Note: Baking time may vary based on the size and/or thickness of crackers. Larger crackers may take longer to bake. For a snappier, crunchier cracker your baking time will be longer.

12. Remove from the oven and allow the crackers to cool on the baking sheets. Optional: Sprinkle with a little bit more flaky sea salt.

13. Transfer to a bowl and serve. Or store in a sealed container or cellophane bag for up to 1 week, if they last that long.

Notes: (1) Bake only one baking sheet of crackers at a time. (2) Use a good quality, sharp cheddar cheese. The more aged the cheese, the drier the cheese will be. This may require you to add a slightly bit more water to the dough. Add in 1 teaspoon at a time. (3) I used a sharp yellow cheddar cheese. If you use a sharp white cheddar cheese, the color of your crackers will look different but will be equally delicious. (4) This is another adaption of the Red Chili and Cheddar Diamonds recipe in The Cheesemongers Kitchen cookbook .