Homemade Cheez-it Stars

Um, okay.  So.  This recipe?  Amazing.  I just don't really know what else to say about it.

You see, I happen to love Cheez-its.  In an unhealthy, can-eat-an-entire-box-in-one-sitting kind of way.  It's really not a pretty sight.  But those cheesy little bits of baked heaven are beyond good.  Don't act like you don't agree.  You know they're fantastic.  Even if you're a foodie snob, you know there always comes a time when you find yourself in a dark room scarfing down those addictive crackers, hoping no one sees your face covered in that delectable powder.  Yum.  My little one - the two year old, that is - also loves the cheesy goodness.  But I never buy them for her.  Mainly because I will eat them all.  But, also (more importantly) because they are in no way healthy.  I mean, you just can't even pretend.  I don't know that there's a natural ingredient in the box.  I'm not a health-food freak by any means (which is obvious by this blog), but I do try to limit the amount of processed foods the little one eats.  I'm usually grateful she's willing to eat anything, but I just can't bring myself to indulge her joy over packaged crackers.  She'll thank me for it later.

Right?  Right.

It never crossed my mind that there may be a homemade version of Cheez-its.  I mean, how in the world could they be replicated?  Not possible.  But, this recipe made the Top 9 on FoodBuzz one day and I was sold.  I knew they had to be made.  The only down side to them?  I can't eat them!  With the milk-elimination diet I'm on, these are off limits.  UGH.  I did taste one just to make sure they were okay, and I could have easily eaten every single one of them that very moment.  Amazing.  You must bake them.  NOW.


Homemade Cheez-it Stars:
8 ozs. shredded, sharp cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp. shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp. ice water
(The original recipe calls for salt for sprinkling, but I forgot this step and I just don't think they need it.  Your call)

Combine cheese, butter, shortening and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  It will be crumbly.  Slowly add flour then ice water.  If you need it (though I didn't) add just a few drops of water to help the dough come together.  But, you do not want a wet dough, so be careful.


Form dough into two discs and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for at least 30 minutes (I let mine chill for a few hours).

After dough is chilled, preheat oven to 375.  Roll each disc to 1/8" thickness and cut into desired shapes.  I used a small, star fondant cutter.  The original recipe calls for cutting into squares using a pastry wheel.  Again, your call.  The original recipe also calls for poking a hole in each piece with a toothpick.  I did not do this and don't think it needed it.

If your dough is difficult to work with, just return it to the fridge for a bit.  Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes until they are just beginning to brown and puff up.  I usually only needed about 10 minutes.  If you remove the crackers and they are not crispy enough, just place them back in the oven for a minute or two.  But, be careful.  You don't want them to burn.  Makes several dozen.

Adapted slightly from In Katrina's Kitchen.

Homemade Graham Crackers

I have been wanting to make homemade graham crackers for a while now.  My toddler loves them and since they are one of the few things she will eat, I don't usually stop her from eating them.  I just don't like all the preservatives in them.  A box of store-bought grahams has what, 20 ingredients?  Obviously, there has to be a better solution.  We're going on a road trip this weekend and will need snacks, so I decided now was the perfect time.  These were incredibly easy, and delicious, and I made them milk-free with no problem.

The original recipe called for two tablespoons of molasses, which I used, but next time I think I would change that to honey, so the recipe would use 4 Tbsp. honey all together - I have reflected this below.  I'm just not a huge molasses fan, unless it's in barbecue sauce.  Also, these would be delicious topped with a sugar & cinnamon mixture.  Enjoy!

Homemade Graham Crackers:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into approx. 16 cubes  (or Earth Balance vegan butter)
4 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cinnamon.  Pulse until the mixture is evenly distributed.  Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly, about 30 seconds.  Add the honey, water and vanilla and pulse until the dough comes together as a ball, around 30-60 seconds.

Place the dough between two sheets of wax paper and roll until it is 1/8" thick.  Chill for at least 1 hour while still between the wax paper.  (I chilled mine for about 2.5 hours and it was nice and firm, which made it easy to deal with).

Preheat oven to 350.  Take dough out of fridge and roll over one more time just to be sure it is evenly spread.  Use desired shape to cut out crackers.  Of course, you can just do traditional squares, but I wanted to do shapes that would be fun for my daughter (and, she likes anything that resembles a cookie).  Once the shapes are cut, use a toothpick to poke several holes in the crackers.  Place crackers on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Since the crackers are fairly thin, you may need to use a greased rubber spatula to lift them off the paper and move to the cookie sheet (or, you can roll the dough out on parchment paper and simply pull away the scraps so you don't have to transfer the crackers at all).  Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until edges begin to brown.  I found I needed between 10 & 12 minutes, but I know my oven tends to run hot.  Just watch them closely.  Makes around forty 2-inch crackers.   

Note:  If you do a second roll-out of the dough, place those cut-out shapes back in the fridge while the first batch is baking.


Source: Adapted from Baking Bites.