Simple Homemade Cheez-Its Recipe
Easy Homemade Cheez-Its Recipe
Did you know you can actually make your own homemade cheez-its? Seriously. It’s not too difficult either.
These homemade cheez-it crackers make for a great snack and it’s pretty cool actually making your own crackers instead of buying them at Walmart or another store. Definitely a fun experience!
Plus, since these are homemade they’re healthier. You’ll know exactly what’s going into them, and you can customize them however you like. You’ll also like that they are made with simple ingredients, no artificial colors or flavors, and no preservatives
Cheez-It Ingredients
I already had all of the ingredients I needed to make these homemade cheez-its. I was a little surprised myself at how simple it really is.
Mix the cheese, butter, 1 tsp of salt, and pepper together in a stand mixer until it starts to stick to the sides of the bowl. Then mix in the flour and cornstarch.
Add 2-3 Tbsp of water until dough ball forms. I needed 3.
Refrigerate Your Dough
Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Roll Out Your Dough
Prepare the oven and the pans, then roll the dough out to about 1/16 inch thickness. The homemade cheez-its will puff up while baking.
How to Cut Your Homemade Cheez-Its Out
It is easy to use the wavy edge of a ravioli cutter to cut the dough into 1-inch squares. Alternately, you can use a pizza cutter to cut the squares.
Use a fork to make the crimp marks on the edges, if desired. To make the hole in the middle of each cheez-it cracker, use the blunt end of a skewer.
Baking Your Cheez-It Crackers
Transfer the cut dough to the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle on some salt and bake! I use a spatula to transfer a few of them at a time to the baking sheet.
More Finger Food Recipes:
- Cookies and Cream Popcorn (aka Oreo Popcorn)
- Little Caesar’s Crazy Bread Copycat Recipe
- Cheesy Zucchini Bites Recipe
- Homemade Tortilla Chips
- Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Meatballs Recipe
Find all our finger food recipes here!
Simple Homemade Cheez-Its Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese 6 ounces
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt plus 1/2 teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup +2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 3 1/4 ounces
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2-3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle beater or electric mixer, combine cheese, butter, 1 teaspoon of salt, and pepper until it starts to stick to the sides of the bowl, about 1 minute.
- Add flour and cornstarch and mix until combined, about 1 minute.
- Add 2 tablespoons of water and mix briefly until dough ball forms. Add another tablespoon of water, if needed.
- Transfer dough to floured counter and flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the dough and place on a floured surface. Roll to 1/16 inch thickness.
- Cut into 1-inch squares using a beveled-edge ravioli cutter or pizza cutter. Transfer to baking sheets. Use a fork to make crimp marks on edges, if desired. Use the blunt end of a skewer to poke a hole in the center of each square. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
- Bake until light golden around the edges, about 18 minutes, switching racks and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cool completely on baking sheets.
- Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
My kids are going to go crazy! Thank you for posting this, I can’t wait to try it out.
They will love it!
I don’t have a stand along mixer, would this not work with a hand mixer? Or by hand? Thanks
I think it would work fine with an electric hand mixer. Just keep a good grip on it! 🙂
i have made a similar recipe by hand quite a few times.. just takes a little longer to get it all mixed up right 🙂
That makes sense. Thanks for letting us know. 🙂
Thanks for this recipe. Slumber party tonight and the girls are having fun making and eating these.
You’re welcome! Glad that someone else is enjoying it too.
ohsheglows.com has a FANTASTIC recipe for homemade wheat thins.. they are amazing.. and the next time you eat an actual wheat think you’ll think “blech” here is the link to her wheat thins. https://ohsheglows.com/2011/02/17/homemade-wheat-thins/
I’ll have to try it out!
My kids are going to be thrilled! They love cheez-its but I’m usually too cheap to buy them.
It is fun!
Have you tried any other flavors of cheese?
I haven’t. That could be fun though! I would just make sure that whatever cheese you try is similar in texture to the sharp cheddar and is full of flavor.
No but I bet they would be really yummy!
I just made these and they are awesome! The family has almost eaten them as soon as they were done! Will definitely save this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you all liked them!
can you freeze the dough to make for another day?
Great question, kelly. I have not tried freezing the dough before. My guess is that you can freeze the dough, but it may dry out a bit. Let me know if it works out well for you!
Are these 90 calories per cracker?! Seems like a lot. How many crackers are produced, ballpark?
I’m pretty sure the nutritional info showing there is not correct. 😉 It is hard to say how many crackers because it depends on how thin you actually roll it and how big you make the crackers. I enter all of the ingredients I use into MyFitnessPal to get more accurate info. When I put them all in a measuring cup, it was about a quart though. Next time I’ll have to weigh them like most crackers are measured!
I’ve made these and sprinkled a mixture of chili powder and a touch of cayenne pepper for a spicy twist.
Great idea, Joan! Thank you for sharing it with us!