Name: Homemade Cheez-Its
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese ((see note)); 1 cup all-purpose flour; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces; ¾ teaspoon salt ((if you use salted butter, decrease to ½ teaspoon)); ½ teaspoon dry ground mustard ((optional)); 2 tablespoons cold water

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: Try making homemade Cheez-Its, the popular cheddar cheese crackers. Homemade is always better: healthier, more economical, and made with wholesome ingredients.

How long it takes: about an hour (that includes chilling time)
Equipment you’ll need: food processor, baking sheet, parchment paper
Servings: Makes 15 dozen small crackers

Overflowing bowl of homemade cheez-it crackers.

About homemade Cheez-Its

Easy to make. Crisp golden cheddar cheese crackers are wholesomely addictively delicious. They are surprisingly easy to make (it’s actually kind of fun!). You probably have everything you need in your pantry and refrigerator: sharp Cheddar cheese, butter, flour, ground mustard, salt, and water.

Absolutely delicious. If you’re wondering how the homemade version compares to the store-bought crackers, be assured that homemade wins hands-down!

Perfect with Diet Coke. Did you know that the best combination in the world (okay, maybe “the world” is a bit of an exaggeration) is Cheez-Its and Diet Coke? The Cheez-Its are best if they are on the extra brown side, and the Diet Coke is best out of a can. Trust me on this one.

Ingredient Notes

Sharp Cheddar Cheese: You’ll need 8 ounces of sharp cheese. Avoid using pre-shredded cheese. It just doesn’t work as well in this recipe. The sharper the cheese, the tastier your crackers will be. (I like extra sharp cheddar cheese.)
Butter: Use cold butter, no substitutes. This is not the place for butter spreads. I usually use unsalted (sweet) butter, but if you use salted butter, decrease the amount of salt you add.
Flour: Plain all-purpose flour is all you need.
Ground Mustard & Salt: Dry ground mustard is found in the spice aisle of the grocery store. The crackers don’t taste like mustard, I promise you, but the spice adds depth to the flavor of the crackers (if you don’t have it, don’t worry, they can be made without it). Crackers also just need a bit of salt or they won’t taste like crackers. If you’re concerned about sodium, cut back on it a bit but not too much.
Food Processor: A food processor makes it easy to shred the cheese and to mix everything together. If you don’t have one, the dough can be stirred up by hand but it will take a little arm power.

How To Make Homemade Crackers

Shred cheese. Begin by shredding the cheese in your food processor. Use the shredding disk. HELPFUL TIP: Well-chilled cheese shreds more easily than warm cheese.

Make dough. Remove the shredding disk and the shredded cheese. Insert the normal, S-shaped blade. Add the flour, butter (cut into little pieces), dry mustard, salt, and cheese.

Pulse the mixture several times. Stop when it looks like coarse crumbs.

Add the water, a tablespoon at a time, and pulse briefly each time. The dough should come together. Don’t overprocess it.

Coarse crumb mixture in a food processor.

Chill dough. Remove the dough from the food processor, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes so it will roll out easily.

Roll the dough. On a floured surface, roll the dough out nice and thin. If you want to divide the dough into two portions first to make it easier to roll it, that’s up to you. The thinner it is, the crispier your crackers will turn out. Shoot for ⅛-inch or even less.

Cut the dough. Cut the squares with a pastry cutter to give them that trademark crinkle edge. If you don’t happen to have one, a pizza cutter or sharp knife works fine. Cheez-Its are about one inch square. You’ll get a lot of crackers, about 15 dozen, but that depends on the size and thickness. Re-roll the scraps to use up every bit of dough.

Make the center hole. For that little trademark hole in the center, use a chopstick, skewer, knitting needle or whatever you can find. A toothpick is too small.

Why is there a hole in Cheez-Its?

The center hole makes the crackers crispier. It allows the steam to escape while the crackers are baking and keeps them from looking like little pillows. (If you think about it, most crackers have small holes in them.)

Arrange on baking sheet. Arrange the crackers close together on a parchment-lined baking sheet. They won’t spread, so put them as close as you can so you can fit a lot of them on.

Bake. Bake the crackers for 17 to 20 minutes or until they are as crispy as you like them. The browner they are, the crispier they are. Pop the tab off a can of Diet Coke and snack away! (If you want, you can share them with the kids.)

A round ball of yellow dough sits on a lightly floured white surface.

By the way, these homemade crackers are perfect for a cheese board or charcuterie board. Your friends will be really impressed when they try your homemade crackers.

Recipe Variations

Try a different cheese. I haven’t tried anything other than extra sharp cheddar but if you want, try another type of cheese. I recommend a sharp cheese rather than a mild cheese. Try to shred your own (it’s easy to shred cheese with your food processor). I find that pre-shredded cheese doesn’t work as well as block cheese.
Experiment with seasoning. I’d love to hear some of your combinations. Try adding taco seasoning, all-purpose seasoning, or curry powder!
Cut them into fun shapes. Be creative! Maybe the kids would like to help. I recommend keeping your designs small. Add homemade crackers to an after school snack board.

Storage

Let crackers cool completely before storing in an airtight container. They’ll keep for at least a week at room temperature. For longer storage, put them in a freezer-safe container and freeze for a month or even longer.

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