This weekend is for snacking. And loafing. Because the weather is garbage. It’s all rainy, but not cozy up with a book kind of rainy (I just looked evuuureeewhere for that clip from The Office where Phyllis rattles off all the rainy day cliches but NBC is holding it hostage). Today was an ugly, cloudy, it-looks-like-rain-but-it’s-really-only-going-to-storm-for-about-5-minutes, 9000% humidity, extra frizzy-haired, and the little boys won’t go outside kind of rainy day.
So I have decided to be a complete couchy potato, eat snacks, only cook things in the crock pot, and immerse myself in all the new fall TV that’s happening.
What are you watching? Looking forward to? Missing?
I am definitely missing Desperate Housewives. Sooooo sad.
But Bones is on again- looove Bones.
Caught up on Modern Family the other day- still hilarious. But I think the amount of time they devote to talking about Modern Family on GMA is a little bit creepy.
The Office is in its last season- the kids and I still like to watch this one together, but we miss Michael Scott. Parks & Recreation is entering into its 5th season, and Amy Poehler always takes the cake, though I haven’t jumped into that show just yet this fall.
So with all this lazy couch surfing and TV watching going on, I decided to make us some snacks. Cheese crackery snacks to be exact.
These cheese crackers taste almost EXACTLY like Cheez-Its, but without all the preservatives, of course. And because they’re orange I felt like the color was sort of appropriate for fall when all things pumpkin take center stage (Note: there is not any pumpkin in these crackers).
Speaking of pumpkin… I decided to give the Dunkin Donuts Iced Pumpkin Latte a whirl today. Except that I think the girl that works at our Dunkin Donuts must HATE coffee. Because in the three times I’ve visited the only location near us (which by the way is actually just a sad little drive-thru window stuck in the back of a gas station) and an ordered iced coffee, what I’ve actually been handed is a giant cup of sugar and milk poured over ice. The exception today was that my sugared milk was pumpkin flavored. AND I actually asked her to go easy on the sugar because my teeth still hurt from the last time I attempted a DD iced coffee (at least 3 months ago). Sorry, Dunkin Donuts. That was your last chance.
These cheese crackers are nothing like the DD sugar milk garbage. They WILL NOT disappoint.
What are you watching this fall? What’s your TV snack of choice? Does your Dunkin Donuts suck as much as mine does?
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces grated parmesan
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard ( I actually used a little spicy mustard from the fridge… worked just fine)
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce (I went with Texas Pete) OR 2 tablespoons water (if you don’t want spice)
- Pre-heat the oven to 375. You can prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, but i found it unnecessary; didn’t even grease the cookie sheet.
- Put all the ingredients in your food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs have formed. Add the hot sauce (or water) in a little at a time until dough forms.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn the dough out. Divide it in half (makes it a bit easier to work with) and roll the dough out. I left mine sort of thick (see photos) because I like it when homemade stuff looks sort of rustic.
- Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the dough into squares, and then poke that signature “Cheez-It” hole in the center using a toothpick or skewer.
- Repeat the process with the second half of the dough. Line your crackers up on your prepared baking sheet; they won’t expand like cookies so there’s no need to leave gaps in between.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes; they’ll be just a tad bit golden.
- Eat ‘em warm or let them cool.
(from THIS recipe at Creative Noshing)
Enjoy!
Barbara
Sunday 16th of March 2014
To answer Lynn McCain's question, you can make them grain free and gluten free by using almond or hazelnut flour, you may have to adjust (add) a bit more liquid. Which is what I am going to try as I am a low carbing Type 2 diabetic. For more inspiration you can look at two recipes that I love and have made-at The Iron You website there is a recipe for chia crackers that is amazing! and at DJfoodie.com, he has a recipe for Hazelnut Parmesan crackers that is amazing as well. Both got rave reviews from picky husband and non diabetic co-workers who keep bugging me to bring some in ! If you really want to amp up the flavor on these cheddar crackers, I'd suggest using some Celtic sea salt, grind a small amount into a small dish and hand sprinkle on the "cheese-its" before baking. I did this with the chia crackers and the flavor was like POW!
Sonya dolan
Friday 8th of November 2013
Just made these. Wonderful! Thank you!
Heather
Saturday 9th of November 2013
Thanks for letting me know Sonya! So glad you liked them! Have a great weekend!
Lynn McCain
Saturday 3rd of August 2013
How can I make this recipe gluten free? Lynn
Heather
Saturday 3rd of August 2013
Oh-- great question! I am definitely not an expert in gluten free baking though! You would want to substitute the all-purpose flour for something similar -- oat flour is a good sub for regular flour, and if you use gluten free oats that should do the trick. Oat flour is an all purpose flour sub at a 1:1 ratio. So for one cup all purpose you'd take 1 cup of oats and grind them in the blender or food processor. One of my favorite gluten free resources is Michelle at My Gluten Free Kitchen. She has successfully adapted several of my recipes to fit her gluten free lifestyle, and her baking... I mean it is out of this world awesome. You can find her here: http://mygluten-freekitchen.com/ or here: https://www.facebook.com/MyGlutenfreeKitchenblog -- I know she'd be glad to help!!!
Kim Williams
Sunday 30th of June 2013
We've been trying to eat healthier for a year now. Easy switch for my husband and I, harder for the youngest. She's pretty good about eating what we do but does love her gold fish crackers and cheez-it's. Her cheez-it addiction is the 4 Cheese one. What would you do to the above recipe to change it to be like that flavor?
Heather
Sunday 30th of June 2013
Hi, Kim! Great question! I looked up the 4 Cheese version and they are all "Italian" - I hope that is the version your daughter likes. The cheeses buried in the middle of their ingredient list are Monterey Jack, Romano, Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Asiago. This recipe calls for a total of 8 ounces of cheese and there are plenty of cheese blends available out there-- I would reduce the Parmesan by half (to 2 ounces) and then use 2 ounces of Monterey Jack, 2 ounces of Mozzarella, and 2 ounces of Romano. Keep in mind that Asiago or Romano cheeses are often mixed in with Parmesan or Mozzarella. Just play with it a little-- I don't think you can go wrong! In place of the paprika you might try a little dried oregano to give it that little bit of Italian flavored oomph. Parsley in place of the ground mustard maybe. Let me know how you like them! Yay for eating healthy whole foods and homemade snacks!
Lacey Burd
Tuesday 4th of June 2013
My daughter and I both have a slight cheez-it addiction. I will definitely be trying these this week. Thanks!!