homemade nacho cheez it's

Cheez Its are definitely my food indulgence weakness.
To me, they are my potato chip. I will gladly take them over a bag of potato chips.
After a grueling workout I crave those salt-lick like squares with a giant glass of ice cold cherry coke.
Sounds good right?  But I rarely act on that indulgence.
Cheez Its have also given me a couple wonderful recipes.
I've cut way back on the amount I eat since they are loaded with chemicals, flavorings and
other crap.
But the best part of this recipe is the ability to switch out seasonings and flavor the crackers to your liking.  I highly suggest investing in some cheese powder.  A good cheese powder that isn't filled with a ton of fillers, chemicals and crap.  Whole Foods or any natural food store should have a good selection of cheese powders.
In this recipe I used a mexican spice flavoring or a taco mix.  I used about 1-3 TB of seasoning from one of those all-natural flavor packets used in making taco's or beef dishes as well as a cheese powder.
You could also try ranch, pizza seasonings, tomato-basil seasonings, the possibilities are endless.

See the cheese powder dusting on the cracker?
Instead of using flour when I roll out the dough, I used cheese powder (just a little bit).
It's an excellent idea that serves as two purposes.

Please do not overwork the dough.
To do my best to avoid over-working the dough, I mixed everything by hand.
I wanted a crisp, puffy cracker.
Now if you want a thin crispy cracker, roll out the dough as thin as possible.

I'm not the best at rolling out a rectangle to get more uniform squares, but as you do this more you will get better at it.
Next time I will try the rectangle along with a ruler for better accuracy -- just to see if I can do it. HA!

If you want those "lines" just like a real Cheez It, then use a fork to make the indentations.
But the lines got lost in the baking as the cracker "puffs".

Or you can make little holes in the center by using the end of a chopstick.

Truly a tasty cracker with a deep cheddar flavor.
Only downside is they do get stale after about two days.

homemade nacho cheez-its

print recipe

8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

4 TB unsalted butter, room temperature

1 TB vegetable shortening

¼ ts salt

2-3 TB of taco or mexican seasonings

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 TB ice water

cheese powder for sprinkling the tops of the crackers before baking, optional

Cook notes: if you don’t want to use any seasonings and just want plain cheddar then use a bit more salt in lieu of the seasonings.

I do not have a stand mixer, and did this by hand, which was much easier since you don’t run the risk of overmixing. You want these crackers to bake up light and crisp, so to achieve that you mix the dough until just done.

I HIGHLY recommend investing in cheese powder for use on the crackers just before baking and for using when you roll out the dough.  King Arthur has a wonderful brand, and most natural food stores have cheese powder, even all natural-flavored cheese powder.

If you are making these in a hot kitchen or during the summertime, please use a marbled surface for rolling out the dough. 

This dough you want to keep as cold as possible.

If dough at any point gets sticky, just stick it back in the fridge.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, (or by hand, I’ve done this by hand, much easier) mix the cheese, butter, shortening, seasonings, and salt.

Add the flour and mix on low (dough will be pebbly). Slowly add the water and mix as the dough forms a ball.

Pat the dough into two disks, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour or overnight

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a cutting board, sprinkle the board with a tiny amount of cheese powder. 

Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each into a very thin (1/8 inch or less) 10x12 inch rectangle.

Using a pastry cutter, sharp knife or pizza wheel, cut the rectangles into 1-inch squares, then transfer them to the baking sheets.  If it gets hard to lift the dough off, just pop them back in the fridge to harden up.

Appearance-wise, if you want clone like Cheez It’s, take a fork and make indentations around the crackers, and then a sharp knife and make a small indentation in the middle of each cracker. 

This part is time consuming, so it’s up to you.  I just made a small hole in the middle of the crackers, and skipped the edges.

Baking: please bake for only 10-15 minutes. 

Look for puffed and browning around the edges.

These crackers can go from lightly browned to burnt in mere 2 minutes so keep an eye out on them.

Should make about 4-5 dozen depending on how you cut them.

They do not last days.  I’d give it 2 days max before they get stale.