Spiced Cheese Crackers

Also known as freaking-addictive home-made cheez-its! You all know my feelings on cheez-its: LOVE THEM.

I'm honestly pretty surprised I haven't tried this before. After seeing so many other bloggers make tasty-looking crackers, I finally cracked down and did it myself. It's really quite easy, and holy moly was it worth it. If you like crackers. Cheese crackers. If you don't like cheese crackers, I'm not sure who you are. You should have your own TV show called "I am not human" or something along those lines. Cheese crackers = bomb.com.

While we on the topic of cheese crackers, let's talk also about cheese. Cheddar cheese. You know I love cheese (tuna melt, burgers, cheesecake... need I go on?), but you probably don't fully comprehend my love of, specifically, Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese. Tillamook has always been my cheese, as a proud Oregonian. As a kid we had a beach house about an hour from Tillamook, so beach trips often included a stop up at the cheese (and ice cream, and yogurt) factory. Totally awesome way to entertain kids, and adults! Derek and I went two summers ago and I'm pretty sure I had just as much fun as I did as a kid.

Back to the point: I can honestly say I've never had a better (affordable) cheddar cheese. No, I'm not sponsered or advertising for Tillamook, I just really think they make incredible cheese! People blab on and on about Wisconsin cheese being the best, but who was it that won Best Medium Cheddar at a meeting IN WISCONSIN? Tillamook! Phenomenal! If you've never tried it, make it a point. The sharper the better, in my opinion. Black label = amazing.

Anyways, enough gushing about my ridiculous love of cheese. Onto these crackers! Like I said, they're VERY easy to make: cream together butter and cheese, add spices and flour, a splash of milk, and you have crackers! After baking them. Don't forget that step. I mean, the dough tasted pretty darn good, but they're so much better as crisp, salty, delicious crackers.

Get on it!

Spiced Cheese Crackers

• Author: adapted from Joy the Baker
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-2 tablespoon cold milk
• salt for dusting

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Instructions

1. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and grated cheese until smooth. It shouldn't take long.
2. Mix together the spices with the flour, then add it to the mixer. Mix on low-speed until mostly incorporated — it's okay to be a little bit crumbly.
3. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. It should not be sticky, but should hold together in a ball.
4. Form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30+ minutes.
5. When the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 400 F.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out very thin — ⅛" or less. Cut it into your desired shape, sprinkle salt all over, and bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for 10-11 minutes.
7. Let the crackers cool at least 5 minutes before eating.

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