Homemade Cheez-Its
Like most processed, packaged snacks, I didn’t really get into Cheez-Its until high school. Waaaaaay past the days of grade school sleepovers with Ritz crackers and spray cheese. Seriously, why did cheese from a can taste so good?! As far as snacks go, Cheez-Its were pretty darn good – they were crunchy, a little salty, and totally cheesy. That’s pretty much all I’ve ever needed to be sold on a snack.
Even though I’ve been making homemade version of packaged snacks for awhile now (Klondike bars, Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, Nutella, peanut butter cups), I never fail to be amazed at how relatively easy each one is to recreate at home. These replica Cheez-Its were no exception; it takes only 5 minutes to make the dough, then it’s just rolling out and cutting!
Can you believe that these only have five ingredients?! Just cheddar cheese, butter, flour, salt and water. That’s it!
Do you know the incredible thing that happens when a simple list of ingredients is used? You can taste each and every one of them, in all of their glory! These crackers might be the best thing to happen to my kitchen since… well, those peanut butter cup cookies I made yesterday… both were total winners!
These crackers taste unbelievably cheesy and buttery. When I took the pans out of the oven, my Chief Culinary Consultant and I hovered over them, popping cracker after cracker into our mouths until we had to slowly back away from the counter. Needless to say, these lasted a mere day in our house. If I would have had more time before we left, I would have made a double batch for car snacks on our way to the beach. They would have been perfect!
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The directions state to bake these for 15 to 17 minutes. The first pan I baked the lower amount, and found them to be closest to the color of the original Cheez-Its, albeit not quite as crunchy. The second batch I left in for an additional few minutes, and while they were a bit browner than what you’d normally see, they tasted pretty much exactly like them (minus the chemicals, of course!) and were super crunchy. That second batch was our preference, but feel free to play around and see what texture you prefer.
I think it’s safe to say you should just go ahead and make a double batch of these replica Cheez-Its before you get seriously upset with someone for eating the last one!
One year ago: Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Two years ago: Colossal Reese’s Pieces Chocolate Chip Cookies
Three years ago: Gazpacho
Four years ago: Baby Shower Cookies
Seven years ago: Dark Chocolate Chip Scones
Homemade Cheez-Its
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the cheese, butter, and salt on low speed until combined. Add the flour and mix on low until pebbly. Slowly add 2 tablespoons of the water and mix as the dough forms a ball. If needed, add the additional tablespoon of water a little at a time until the dough forms. Pat the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each into a very thin 10x12-inch rectangle (the dough should be no more than ⅛-inch high). Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut the rectangles into 1-inch squares, then transfer them to the baking sheets.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until puffed and browning at the edges. Immediately move the crackers to wire racks to cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
These are delicious! My son found this recipe three days ago, and has made them twice. The instructions say they keep for a week, but we can’t seem to keep them for one day! :-)
These are amazing!!! I made them for my family over Thanksgiving, and now I’m not allowed in the door at any gathering unless I have these with me. I always use the sharpest cheese I can find. I also decrease the amount of salt in the crackers and sprinkle crunchy sea salt on them before baking. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Weird results…. I ended up with greasy fried cheese squares – nothing remotely resembling a CheezIt. Didn’t seem to be enough flour for one thing. While mixing flour into cheese/butter mix it didn’t bind and definitely didn’t form a “pebbly” texture as promised. Also had to add more water than called for to get it to form. There’s also no way you could separate the resulting dough into 2 balls that would each form 10X12 rectangles. The entire batch might…. If anyone manages to tweak this recipe to a successful result please post what you changed. I had such high hopes :(
Your “fried squares” experience sounds like the cheese was not incorporated well enough into the flour. I used a food processor to shred the cheese (much easier than a grater so, if possible, borrow one if you don’t have a processor. I put the shredded cheese into the freezer for about 1/2 hr. and then broke up the shreds a bit before adding to the butter so I wouldn’t have big blobs of melting, burning cheese in the crackers. Press the balls of dough with your hands as if you’re trying to make a firm snowball. Also, wrap the dough balls well in plastic wrap and give them AT LEAST the minimum time in the fridge before using. This lets the moisture permeate the dough so it won’t fall apart. Really lean on the rolling pin to get the dough thin!
I sprinkled mine with a little sea salt before baking and I loved it!
Thanks for the recipe
Just made these this week with mature English cheddar, tasted like a better version of the white cheddar Cheez-its! Thanks much for the recipe.
has any one done these with blue cheese or feta? what should I change to offset the sticky? love the blog and your comments on life. It’s like cooking with a friend (or a bunch of friends) Thank you in advance!
Just made these and I love them! They’re so good!
Do you think I could make these with bread flour? It is all I have at the moment.
Hi Tep, It would certainly change the consistency and they might be more tough, less flaky.
I came across your recipe & made a batch tonight – fantastic! Thank you for posting it. I had some smoked cheddar, which gave a wonderful flavor.
My pasta machine worked wonderfully for rolling the dough into thin, even sheets (my skills with a rolling pin are rather pathetic.) I only took the dough down to a 2, which was a little thick after they puffed up. A thinner setting of 3 or 4 might yield better results. I’m already looking forward to making them again. :-)
I tried these today (doubled the recipe) and they were horrible. Very dry and way too salty. Didn’t taste like cheese – more like salted baked flour cakes. What did I do wrong? My shredded cheese came from the freezer and I didn’t chill for a full hour. Could that make such a big difference? Also, the dough never formed a ball naturally, after mixing for awhile I hand rolled it into a ball.
Ooooh those look tasty. I have such a weakness for anything salty and cracker-ey. I just made the dough and now it is chilling. For anyone wondering, these were easily made with little effort without a mixer. I used a whisk for the butter and cheese part, and then used a wooden spoon for the flour and the water. The dough was a titch crumbly, but maybe that will go away with the chilling? Oh well, I’d probably eat the dough raw anyway. Thanks for the recipe and I can’t wait to fill an old peanut butter jar with them and take them everywhere I go! Take care :-)
I absolutely need to point out how perfect this is! The recipe in particular, yes. But the website as a whole, too! I have scanned through just about every recipe. ‘Cept the mains. I don’t fancy mains.
Quick question, can the all-purpose be replaced with almond flour? I’m not full in knowledge about the workings of almond flour, and have only ever seen it being used in desserts. But I do prefer the LCHF composition.
Thanks a bunch!
Hi Mary Anne, I haven’t done any baking with almond flour, but since this is a pretty simple recipe, I think it might work. You might need to increase or decrease the amount of water used to get the right consistency.
LOVE THESE!! I used a sharp, orange Craker Barrell cheese that I shredded myself. They puffed up quite a bit but when I tried to roll them thinner, they nearly burned. So, in the end, I yielded 4 cups of crackers. My 2 toddlers DEVOURED them!! If you look at the list of ingredients on Cheez It crackers you’d be amazed at all the *stuff* in them :( This is a great recipe. I think I may try adding some garlic and onion powder next time and see how those come out.
I’m trying these today – the dough tastes just like the crackers so I’m excited to get them baked (and eaten). MSG is the reason that the spray cheese tasted so good – it is addicting and dangerous to our bodies.
I can’t have gluten, do you think a gluten free flour would work for these??? I’ve been DYING for cheez-its!!!
Hi Shawna, I have never done any baking with gluten-free flours, so I couldn’t say for sure, but I think it would be okay.
I have made these twice with GF flour (using Pamela’s GF flour blend) and it worked out cup for cup. They were AMAZING!
Wow!!! I. Really love it…so tasty , yummy and de!vicious… So easy to prepare . I try it just right now wow!!!thanks a lot for sharing this tasty recipe…. I’m hoping for more more recipes to come,,,, More power to you and God Bless !!! Have a nice day ♥♥♥
Oh my goodness, those look so yummy. I just made my first batch of soda crackers earlier this week, and they were a huge hit, and I was thinking I should look for more cracker recipes to try when a friends shared this post on FB. I’m so glad she did. I can’t wait to try this one, and I can’t wait to check out some more of your posts.
Hi Michelle and all you cheese-lovers,
You may want to try this cheesy recipe.
MACADAMIA CHEDDAR BISCUITS
185 gm. coarsely grated mature cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. soft butter
70 gm. flour
60 ml. milk
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. paprika
70 gm. roughly chopped salted macadamia nuts
Beat cheese and butter together with a fork. Add flour, milk, paprika and salt, using the fork to mix til it forms a soft dough. Stir in the macadamia nuts. Place heaped teaspoonsful of the mixture on a non-stick baking sheet and flatten each slightly with a fork. (Works best if you roll the teaspoonfuls into balls with your hands first, then flatten.) Bake at 200 C. for 10-12 min. or until the biscuits are golden and crunchy on the sides. Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 24 biscuits. Rich and buttery-very nice as a nibbly with a glass of champagne.
i’m snacking on these now and they are quite tasty.
I am seriously so excited to make these for my sons!!!
YUMMY again! Throw in a little red pepper for some kick!
i want to try this for my little toddler! thanks for sharing =)
http://www.lesley-kim.com
Can you use salted butter?
Hi Missy, You can, you just may want to decrease the amount of added kosher salt then.
Oh my gosh – sooo good! I have made these twice in as many days – once with sharp cheddar and once with mozzarella. I cut the salt in half and they were still super yummy. My girls loved them and so did my co-workers!
I can’t wait to try these. I am seriously thinking of getting in the car to buy cheese (only ingredient I’m lacking) right now!
Cheese in a can? Never seen that in Australia!
I’m going to make these later this afternoon – judging by the ingredients, I think they’ll be a hit.
Hi! this recipe looks yummy!! but i have a question, do you think is possible to use coconut flour or almond flour instead of the all purpose flour?
thanks :)!
Hi Zahari, I haven’t tried using any other types of flours and don’t think that it should make too much of a difference, but you may notice some flavor and texture differences.
These look really good! I love cheez-its but if I bought a box they’d be gone within a day. This recipe looks fantastic! How many cups of 1 inch crackers did it make? I’m thinking these would be great for a potluck at work, but I’m not sure if it’d make enough. :)
I honestly didn’t measure these in cups. If I had to guess, maybe somewhere around 6 to 8? My husband and I ate an entire batch of these within 1.5 days, if that helps :)
I’m definitely making these as per the recipe but just out of curiosity, has anyone used whole wheat flour or a mix of whole wheat pastry and AP flour?
I used about 3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour and 1/4 ap flour and they turned out great! I just had a little bit left in the bag and wanted to use it up and topped it off with the ap flour.
We are going to start my 5 year old on gluten fee. Do you think gluten free flour would work with these?
Hi Erica, I think that should be fine, however I haven’t tried it.
Same gluten issue in my house. Would you mind letting us know how they turn out, if you make them gluten free? thanks!