Homemade Cheese Crackers

These Homemade Cheese Crackers are made with only a handful of ingredients and create a crispy, crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth cheese cracker reminiscent of Cheez-Its.

Cheese Crackers make a perfect snack or pair them with a Turkey Club wrap and a Homemade Gogurt for a wholesome lunch on the go.

Homemade is Best

If you or your kids love Cheez-Its, this copycat recipe is a must-try.

With just a few ingredients and a food processor, you can easily whip up homemade cheese crackers that are rich, buttery, flaky, and oh so tasty.

Not only is the recipe for cheese crackers easy, but it is also allergy-friendly and preservative-free. But most importantly, even my kids agree that these Homemade Cheez-Its are better tasting than the store-bought version.

And because you control the ingredients of the crackers, you can feel a bit better when your child grabs an extra handful-because you know they will!

Ingredients Needed

• Cheese: Use any quality sharp cheddar you like, white or yellow. But you must remember to grate the cheese yourself. I can not stress the importance of using freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese. You want to use freshly grated cheese so that these cheese does not contain any anti-caking agents--as this will change the consistency of these crackers.
• Flour: Use whole wheat, whole white wheat, all-purpose, or a 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend.
• Butter: Use unsalted, cold butter. Just like biscuits, you want the butter to be distributed into the dough and super cold so that when it hits the heat, the butter melts and pockets of air are created, keeping these crackers light and crispy.
• Seasonings: A touch of salt and onion powder add just the right flavor to the crackers.

How To Make Copycat Cheez-Its

• Fit your food processor with a cheese grater and grate your cheese.
• Once the cheese is grated, change out the grater blade for the dough hook on your food processor.
• Add in the butter and seasonings and pulse the dough cheese and butter until it resembles sand.

• Add in the flour and process until the dough just comes together. Through the opening on food processor lid, add in cold water while the dough is mixing. Mix until just combined. If you happen to not have a food processor, hand grate your cheese and then use 2 forks or pastry cutter to mix the dough.
• Scoop dough out onto parchment paper, silicone baking sheet, or even wax paper and form into a flattened circle. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough and roll out to about ⅛ inch thick.

• Allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. This allows the dough to get chilled and the butter to form air pockets in the crackers, keeping them light and crunchy.
• Using a knife, pizza cutter, or pastry cutter, cut dough into ½ inch strips lengthwise and then repeat width-wise to form ½ inch squares.

• Using, a toothpick or end of a skewer, poke a hole in the center of each cracker. This allows air to escape as the crackers bake, which is another reason these crackers stay light and crispy.

• Bake until crackers are just set and edges slightly browned. Be sure to watch carefully last couple minutes so crackers don't burn.

Storage

Homemade cheese crackers should be kept in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.  You want to be sure to seal the container in which you store the crackers well, as air will cause the crackers to become soft or stale.

To pack Cheese Crackers in a school lunch, place in snack size sealable bag or small sealed container.

These Cheese Crackers also freeze well. To freeze crackers, place them in a freezer bag, and seal tight. Store for up to 3 months.

More Homemade Snacks

• Homemade Granola Bars
• Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups
• Homemade Larabars
• Instant Pot Yogurt

If you enjoyed this recipe for Homemade Cheese Crackers, please be sure to leave a comment and review below.

This post was originally published in 2018 but was updated with new tips in 2020.