Description
These crispy homemade gluten-free Cheez Its are so easy to make, and make a delicious savory snack! Go bake a batch of these cheese crackers today and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120g) gluten-free 1:1 baking flour
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your gluten-free flour blend already contains it)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 3/4 cups (225g) finely grated cheddar cheese (medium or sharp cheddar will work)
- 3 tablespoons (45g) cold butter, cut in chunks
- 30 ml cold water
Instructions
- Preheat and Line: Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Whisk Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl add gluten free flour, xanthan gum, salt and whisk to combine ingredients.
- Add Cheddar and Cold Butter: Add the finely grated cheddar cheese to the bowl with the flour mixture, and mix using your hands. Add the cold butter chunks and use your fingers break down the butter while mixing the ingredients together until you get a crumbly mixture similar in texture to breadcrumbs.
- Add Water: Add in the cold water, and mix using a wooden spoon or with your hands until homogeneous dough forms. If mixture is too dry and not sticking together, add in ½ teaspoon more cold water at a time until the texture resembles play-doh (neither too sticky nor too dry).
- Shape into Ball: Shape the dough into a ball.
- Cut Dough Ball into Half: Cut the dough ball in half.
- Roll Dough to Even Thickness: Place each half of the dough on a sheet of parchment paper and flatten into a disc. Lay another sheet of parchment on top of dough and roll dough out to about 1/16 – 1/8-inch thick.
- Cut Dough into Squares: Use a cracker cutter or pizza cutter to cut the rolled dough into approximately 1-inch squares.
- Transfer Dough Squares to Baking Sheet: Place the dough squares on prepared baking sheet with parchment paper spacing each square at least ¼ inch apart.
- Poke Hole in Center: Using a wooden skewer or toothpick, poke a hole in the center of each dough square.
- Bake Until Ready: Bake the cracker dough in the preheated oven for 12-17 minutes until the crackers are slightly golden on the bottom (Note that the baking time will depend on how hot your oven is, and how thick you rolled out the dough). Start with 12 minutes and check if they are browning on bottom, bake for an additional 1-2 minutes and check. Repeat if needed. The longer you bake them the crisper they will be. Roll out, cut and bake the remaining dough.
- Cool Completely Before Serving: Make sure to allow the crackers to cool completely before serving, Enjoy!
Notes
Gluten-Free Flour: I recommend using a good-quality gluten-free 1:1 flour blend that is made up of lighter flours/starches (such as rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch or potato starch). I do NOT recommend using gluten-free flour blend with heavier flours (such as garbanzo bean flour).
Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum is the replacement for gluten in gluten-free flours and helps to better bind the ingredients together. If your gluten-free flour blend does not already include it, make sure to add it in!
Cheddar Cheese: You can use either medium cheddar or sharp cheddar, depending on how intense you like the flavor to be. If you are lactose-intolerant, go ahead and use dairy-free cheddar cheese instead.
Butter: Make sure to keep your butter cold so that it doesn’t melt as your knead the dough. Having solid pieces of butter in the dough ensures that you get a flaky texture. If you are lactose intolerant, go ahead and use dairy-free butter instead.
Water: Make sure to use cold water as it helps to maintain the butter in a solid state longer.
Storing: To store, place the fully cooled gluten-free Cheez It crackers in an airtight container and store for up to 1 week.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 17 mins
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
