Whole Wheat Cheese Crackers

I'm going to tell you first that I don't really like cheese flavored snacks. I was never a fan of goldfish crackers until they made the parmesan cheese flavor - and even those I would never buy. I don't like cheez-its either. Yellow cheese and I are not great friends. I have eaten more recently (meaning the past 5 years) in an attempt to be less picky and compromise on sandwich cheese with M. After all, we don't need to store multiple cheeses in the fridge or they get moldy too quickly. I like most other cheese, even the smelly ones. I've also grown to like bleu cheese, thanks to our good friends at Williamson Winery. It will be hard to forget Bleu cheese on top of Irish Cheddar with a little drop of honey. mmmm. 

Now that you know my history of cheddar cheese dislike, you may be asking why I chose to make cheese crackers for the Easy Bake cOven recipe of the month.... I could have made home made oreos or pop tarts. Home made graham crackers should have come before goldfish crackers as well! Fortunately for me, there was a block of neglected cheddar cheese in the fridge calling my name. It started to look a little frosty on two edges so I cut those pieces off and put the rest to good use. (yeah yeah, but all cheese is mold right?)

M and I eat a lot of crackers. They are a good snack to pack with lunch, and are good to munch on when we get home from work if we won't be cooking for a while. The whole wheat version of a goldfish cracker was pretty tasty. They puffed like goldfish (though I wasn't as interested in creating an exact replica as Smitten Kitchen). They had a nice crispy exterior, and as Nicole mentioned when she picked the recipes, you can control every ingredient that goes in. 

The recipes we used all came from Smitten Kitchen. The version I made using 100% whole wheat flour. I don't know that I need to try these with all purpose flour, but I imagine the AP flour version tastes slightly more like the original. Give them a try yourself! They are quick and cheap to make, and your children may love them! 


Whole Wheat Cheese Crackers

1 1/2 C cheddar cheese coarsely grated
4 T butter
3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and pulse a couple of times to incorporate. Mix for two minutes or until the dough forms a ball and sounds like it might break your machine. Immediately roll into 1/8 inch thickness (if I did these again I'd make them slightly thinner). Cut with any shape cookie cutter as long as it is easy to eat. (I used a 1 1/2" biscuit cutter). Place on an ungreased cookie sheet as close as 1/4" and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden. Cool on the pan for 30-45 minutes. Remove and store air tight.