Need a new homemade snack idea instead of buying those boxed versions all the time?
We get a lot of requests for healthier homemade versions of common snacks to put inside lunch boxes!
Related: Top 5 Lunchboxes We’ve Tested
The fun part is to get your kids involved and let them have mini cutters and cut any shape they want! Want round ones? Use the downside of a shot glass.
MOMables specializes in taking recipes and making them simple so everyone can do it! You don’t have to be a master chef to follow our meal plan; all you need is a kitchen and a bit of preparation!
The recipe is simple, easy to make, and it will leave you wondering what the extra ingredients in the box really mean.
Cheese Snack Crackers
- Yield: 3-4 cups, depending on size
- Cuisine: Snacks
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into pieces
- 1 cup flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the cheese, butter, flour, and salt into a food processor. Pulse, for 5 seconds at a time, about five or six times, until the dough becomes coarse crumbs.
- Slowly add the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, with the food processor on, until the dough becomes a ball.
- Divide the dough into two balls, and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Remove one dough ball from the refrigerator, and roll it on a floured board with a floured rolling pin until it is about ⅛ inch thick.
- Cut the dough into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. You can put a bit of flour on the blade of the knife to keep it from sticking. Use a toothpick or skewer to poke a hole in the center of each cracker.
- Place the crackers at least ¼ inch apart on the baking sheet. Repeat the process with a second ball of dough.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, with the rack placed in the middle of your oven, until the edges are just starting to brown. They might puff up too. If you are baking two pans at the same time, swap/rotate the pans halfway through.
- Place the baking sheet on a rack, and let the crackers cool completely. Eat or store in a covered container for up to 3 days.
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Mine didn’t look like the photo at all, the puffed right up even though I stabbed each one with a fork. How do you get them so flat and crisp looking? Mine were more like cheesy pastry.
rolling them out really thin is how we do it.
These were SO yummy! I featured them in a Back to School Lunch post. While they may last a few days, good luck on making it that far! SO good.
These sound great. I’m planning on trying the recipe today. But I’m wondering if they can possibly be stored longer than 3 days in an airtight container? In theory, making snacks at home as opposed to buying them in a box sound better but not if they don’t last long enough to make the time investment worth it. If this makes 3-4 cups, there’s no way we’d eat that many in 3 days. =(
I guess I’ll just have to make them and find out!
April, these are “fresh” crackers. You can bake half of the recipe and freeze the dough. I have also frozen the pre-cut crackers and then transferred them to a zip bag once frozen. That way, you can pull out however many you need and bake.
Just made these with some leftover Parmesan and cheddar cheese- they are great! I didn’t use a food processor, just mixed it by hand with a fork and they still turned out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe.
My daughter (almost 6) and I LOVE these crackers! She enjoyed poking the holes in the middles before baking. ;) Although slightly softer than a Cheez-it, we think they taste even better. Thanks for an easy alternative to the processed boxed stuff.
★★★★★
These sound great! Would different flours work the same? I was thinking of using freshly milled whole wheat or oat or brown rice flour or a mixture of flours.
Cindy, if you mill your own wheat, make it super fine (like pastry flour). I have not tried them with other flours.
You are so right, makes you wonder what the heck is in the boxed versions of this. Such a great alternative, my boys would love these!
Do you think it will be fine if I switch out the dairy and flour to make them GF and DF? Should I do anything else different?
Thanks!
Sarah, I have not tried making these gf or df so I cannot recommend.
I will let you know what happens.
There’s a GF recipe on the MOMables blog – just sub DF cheddar cheese shreds (might need up to 1/4c more than the cheese called for here) -or- nutritional yeast (1-2 Tbsp,) 1-2 tsp each onion and garlic powder, plus some paprika (2-3 tsp) and turmeric (1tsp) for that orangey color!
Today my son was given a bag of cheez-its and since we don’t eat processed food he got super upset when I didn’t let him have the “cheese crackers.” So, I came home and made these so he didn’t feel deprived by not having what all the other kids were eating. They were very good. I added about a 1/4 teaspoon of paprika. I had to bake them in two batches. On the second batch I sprinkled a bit of salt on the top to be more like cheese-its and they are really good. My son ate the non-salted crackers and my husband and I ate some of the crackers with salt. I will definitely make these again. Thanks!
★★★★★