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
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.
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.)
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.
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.
More Snack Recipes
Homemade Cheez-Its
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
Instructions
- In a food processor, shred cheese using shredding blade. Remove shredding blade and cheese from food processor and replace the blade with the normal blade (s-shaped).8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
- Add flour, butter, salt, mustard, and shredded cheese to the food processor and pulse until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.1 cup all-purpose flour, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon dry ground mustard
- While pulsing, add water 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together.2 tablespoons cold water
- Remove from food processor, wrap in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare baking sheet by lining with Silpat or parchment paper.
- On lightly floured counter, roll out dough quite thin (⅛ -inch or less). The thinner they are, the crispier they get. Cut into one inch squares. A pastry wheel or pizza cutter works well. Use the tip of a chopstick or skewer to poke a hole in the middle of each cracker (see note).
- Place crackers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You can place them close together, not touching, as they do not really expand.
- Bake for 17 minutes or until crispy, up to 20 minutes. They should be lightly browned on the bottom and firm to the touch. The browner they are, the crispier the crackers will be.
- Cool the crackers in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
- Cheese: It’s important to grate your own cheese for this recipe for best texture. Don’t use pre-shredded. It only takes a minute using your food processor.
- Yield: Yield depends on the size and thickness of the crackers you make. I usually end up with about 15 dozen crackers.
- Storage: Your Cheez-Its will 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.
- Why the hole? There are two reasons. A one inch square with a hole in the middle mimics the Cheez-It crackers. Additionally, the hole helps the crackers get crispier because it allows the steam to escape from the center of the cracker as it bakes, and keeps it from puffing up like a pillow.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
I’ve made this recipe a bunch of times now.. I love it, and thought I would share what I’ve changed. I usually make half this recipe, I removed the mustard, add 1/4 tsp of cayenne and 3 strips of bacon (cooked) to the food processor. Also, before I put them into the oven I lightly sprinkle the pan with a pinch of salt. I convection bake it for 20-25 minutes. I don’t like them to come out chewy at all.
Thanks hope someone will try it with this twist.
I agree about the salt on the cut crackers. The bacon sounds interesting, but Rachel was going for authentic homemade Cheez-Its. You could also add ham instead of bacon for a different flavor, but meats baked into crackers seldom do well together. A cooked piece of bacon and a small slice of cheddar on top of the finished crackers sounds delicious and would make a wonderful appetizer.
This is the same recipe my mother used over 50 years ago (minus the mustard and water). She wrapped this cheese mixture around spanish olives. Baked as usual and served to guests hot from the oven. They are so delicious!
I tried to make the cheez-it’s, but the dough was still crumbly after the 2T of water. Even after putting it in the fridge. I wasn’t able to roll out the mixture. I had to make small sections and try it that way. Just wondering if that was normal or if I did someone wrong.
I agree that rolling them out much flatter and cooking them longer would have given you better results. Also sprinkling the wet dough with coarse salt after cutting and placing on the cookie sheet would also add some extra salty zing to these. The dry mustard is a great suggestion. A few drops of tabasco sauce (not too many maybe 3) would also give it a bit more flavor. How about some turmeric as well? Less is more with all these spices folks. They are bit players to the cheese. If you do the same thing with aged swiss instead of the the cheddar you can approximate those delicious boxed crackers as well. Cut those into rectangles like the original Swiss Cheese Crackers.
Different parts of the country are always wetter or drier than another. You had very dry flour and in that case you always need to moisten it up some more 1 tsp at a time until it rolls out without crumbling apart.
I me these with a Romano/ cheddar blend and they were so yummy!!!!
Sounds fantastic!
My daughters love Cheez Its and I will have to try these. I would also love to try a variation by using buffalo sauce. I’m a huge fan of anything buffalo and I bet they would taste awesome! My youngest would love the spice as well but I would have to make some regular for my oldest.
Mine did not turn out orange at all! What did I do wrong?
I used orange cheddar, did you use white cheddar?
I used 8oz, dry cup , of medium cheddar. I also used 4 tablespoon of cold butter. We’re my measurements off then? Yours in the picture look identical to the box kid. Mine Yates good but the color was barely orange. When mixing it i used the pastry blade on my food processor. i did not use te chopping blade. Hmmm… Wonder what I did. :(
I must be honest, in my opinion the best coke comes from a soda fountain, although I can’t drink the diet or sugar free kinds because the sweetener bothers me. but these look amazing and definitely would be a guilt free addition to my son’s lunch or for a snack. he is two and is obsessed with crackers and chips of every kind, although i do limit him. he at least eats plenty of fruit and vegetables and i love that. I wonder if anyone has done a homemade doritos recipe?….
Just made these (some are in the oven as i type!!) and they are delicious! Even my 3 little boys are mowing them down! I actually subbed in whole wheat flour, probably about a cup minus 2 tablespoons, and sprinkled them with a little salt when the came out of the oven! First sheet pan is almost gone, good thing this recipe makes a lot!! Thank so much for sharing!!
So glad you liked them!
A few things:
1. I also loathe the z in CheeZ-Its. It’s a big pet peeve of mine, along with using K instead of C. I once lived near a restaurant called Korner Kitchen. Drove me out. of. my. mind.
2. These crackers are adorable! I would make them for that reason alone.
3. I love the depth of flavor that mustard adds to cheese. If- okay, when- I make these, I’ll definitely use the dry mustard.
Thanks for sharing!
Hehe–I’m so glad I’m not the only one!
I grew up eating these–my mom made them every Christmas. Here are some options for you to ponder. 1. Our recipe includes some red pepper for bite, and our basic recipe is simply equal amounts of butter, flour, and sharp cheddar cheese. 2. My mom cut the cookies into star shapes and put half a pecan on top of each one. 3. You can also make these by rolling the dough into a cylinder shape in a piece of waxed paper, chilling it in the fridge, and slicing the cookie dough very thin–this is much quicker and easier, but the cookies are definitely not as cute! 4. Another favorite variation when using the roll, chill, and slice method is–believe it or not–mixing in some rice crispies. The cereal provides a delightful crispy texture.
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing! I love the rice crispie idea!