Homemade Cheez-Its

Everybody loves Cheez-Its. It's probably a true fact. And I don't know about all y'all (cut me some slack, I'm married to a Southerner), but sometimes I just can't bring myself to buy them! Of course, I'm also on a low-cost, full-time college student, newly married budget. So it's not like I can really afford it anyway. So I decided to make my own! But of course, by the time I buy all the ingredients, it costs about the same as a box of Cheez-Its anyway. But the good news is it will go a lot father than your average box, and there's none of that preservative stuff and other nonsense. Or at least as much of it.  So here's the recipe - try it. You'll love it. Go. Do it now. They're delicious!

Homemade Cheez-Its

Ingredients:
8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded
1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons ice water

Directions
1. In a stand mixer (Kitchen-Aids work great!), use the paddle attachment to mix the cheese, butter, and salt.
2. Add the flour and mix on low. The dough will look pebbly, it's okay.
3. Slowly add the ice water and mix as the dough forms a ball. At first it may seem like 2T won't be enough, but it works great, just let it work through the dough.
4. Pat the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for one hour.
5. Preheat your oven to 375F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Divide the dough into two pieces and, using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a very thin rectangle (1/8 inch or less). My rectangle wasn't very big and wasn't very rectangle-ey, but just make sure it's thin enough, without being too thin that it will break when you pick it up.
7. Using a cookie cutter, I used a star, cut the dough, then transfer them to the baking sheets. (At this point, I sprinkled a little Kosher Coarse Salt over the top before I baked them, because I like them a little more salty).
8. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until puffed and browning at the edges. My oven cooks more on the warmer side, so mine only cooked for 12 minutes. Immediately remove the crackers to cooling racks. I had to put mine on a separate cookie sheet to cool because they fell through the cracks of my cooling rack.

photo credit to this website 

I originally got my recipe from this website, so I won't take credit for it, but I'm telling you how great it is and how I think all of you should try it. So go. Bake. Win!