Cheddar Snack Crackers

My Little One (and everyone else in the family, honestly) loves Goldfish snack crackers. They're a fairly cheap, easy snack and I don't have a problem with them being not technically "healthy" because Little One's diet is generally free of junk food. I decided recently to try my hand at making the homemade version. The recipe I tried was perfect! I made one minor addition (of paprika) and loved the way they turned out. We call ours Daisies because the only cookie cutter I had that was small enough is flower-shaped.


Cheddar Snack Crackers

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 tablespoons butter, cut up
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2-3 tablespoons water

In a food processor, pulse the cheese, butter, flour, salt and paprika until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture comes together. You just want it to stick together, not to make an actual smooth "dough". (Like a pie crust if you're familiar with that process.) Anyway, take the mixture out of the processor and place in a large square of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly, pressing together into a disc. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. (If you leave it over an hour, you'll want to take it out to warm slightly before working with it.) On an area lightly dusted with flour, roll the dough out thinly, about an 1/8 of an inch. Use a small cookie cutter to make your crackers, transferring them to a greased baking sheet. You can make the sheet pretty full, as long as the shapes don't touch.

Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes. They'll puff, but you don't want them to brown. Remove from the baking sheet onto a cooling rack lined with a paper towel.

This picture shows some of them flipped over so you can see the lightly browned bottoms.

I can't wait to try little variations on these like combining cheeses, dusting them with seasoning, and substituting whole wheat flour!