PROJECT 43

HOMEMADE CHEESE CRACKERS

At my house we go through boxes upon boxes of cheese crackers. My three-year-old loves them, and while he will share if forced, he doles them out to his daddy one at a time.

When I came upon a recipe for homemade cheese crackers, as soon as I got past the excitement, I realized that this simple recipe was something that I should have been able to figure out on my own.

This is a good recipe for young cooks, as it is easy, but due to the novelty, it will get them lots of compliments from those that they share with.

The Ingredients

Ingredients:

•   1 cup all-purpose flour

•   4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

•   8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

•   ¾ teaspoon salt

•   2 tablespoons cold water

•   ½ teaspoon ground mustard (optional)

Tools:

•   Food Processor

•   Measuring cups and spoons

•   Plastic wrap

•   Pizza cutter

•   Toothpick

•   Baking sheet

•   Parchment paper

Procedure:

Mix until ingredients look like crumbs

1.     In a food processor, pulse all the ingredients (except the water) until it looks like coarse crumbs.

2.     Once you get the crumbly texture, add in water 1 tablespoon at a time while continuing to pulse the food processor.

3.     Remove the mixture from the food processor.

Wrap in plastic and chill

4.     Wrap the mix in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

5.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll thin and cut into squares

6.     Roll out dough until it is very thin, and then cut into squares using a pizza cutter.

7.     Use a toothpick to poke a hole in the middle of each cracker.

8.     Place crackers on lined baking sheet. Since the crackers don’t expand much you can put them close together.

9.     Bake for 13–15 minutes or until crispy.

The first bake may not have the same texture as commercial crackers, but they are addictive.

Lessons Learned:

This would be a good time to have a discussion about how things are made. Looking at how simple this recipe is, what other things from the grocery can be figured out and replicated?