cheesy crackers!

Let me start off first by saying it should be illegal to A. ever buy a box of cheez-its again, and B. not own a food processor. I just bought a food processor after Christmas and I honestly don't know how I've ever lived without one. It's like when you realize that your iPhone does pretty much everything for you and if you lost it your life would probably turn upside down. My food processor is slowly becoming just as essential as my iPhone. I make pesto in snap, grate cheese in a flash, and slice up veggies! I don't have the super fancy one with the adjustable slicing thickness or cheese grater, but this works just as well.
These cheese crackers literally took me 15 minutes for two doughs. It is THAT simple. The bulk of your time spent on these little ones is the baking time. (and letting them hang out in the fridge for half an hour)
Look at all of this cheesy goodness. I made two different kinds. The first was the original recipe that a friend found online for me. He posted it on my FB wall earlier this week. There was no hesitation in me saying... that is my weekend recipe.

The original recipe uses cayenne pepper and paprika. YUM! Except I am not a spicy food eater and they turned out a bit too spicy for me, but I am still eating them like crazy even with my mouth on fire.
The second was a version I put together using sharp white cheddar cheese, oregano, basil, and garlic powder. This was more my taste. Both are absolutely delicious and I super suggest you try them out. Just think, making these yourself cuts out all of that processed yuckiness. These are ultimately healthier, and more delicious!
Yellow Cheddar Spicy Crackers

via Molly Durham

8oz. Cheddar Cheese (I used mild wisconsin cheddar)

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

White Cheddar Garlic & Herb Crackers

adpated from the above.

8oz. White Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/2-1 teaspoon of garlic powder (depends on your palette, I love garlic.. I used 1 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon basil

For Both:

1 cup all purpose flour

4 tablespoons of cold butter cut into cubes

3/4 teaspoon of table salt

2 tablespoon of ice water

Crush sea salt for on top of the crackers

1. Grate your cheese of choosing, and combine all ingredients in your food processor (minus the water, and sea salt).

2. When your mixture starts to stick together in the food processor add 1 tablespoon of water at a time. You will only need to keep the food processor on for a few more seconds after you add the water.

3. Form your dough into a ball and wrap in plastic and flatten a bit into a disk. Keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4. When the 30 minutes is up, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

5. Roll out your dough to be 1/8th of an inch thick and then cut into 1" squares. I used my fluted pastry wheel to get nice crinkle edges.

6. Sprinkle sea salt on top of crackers and ever so gently press the salt into the crackers... seriously just a little pat on top.

7. Taking a skewer or a dowel rod lightly press into the center of each cracker.

8. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and load up your crackers. Don't worry about over crowding the sheet because they only puff up, not out. Just keep them at least a 1/2 inch a part at the most.

9. Bake each tray for about 12 minutes. The original recipe says 25 minutes, but honestly... mine would have burnt really bad. Just make sure you keep an eye on the first batch and see where you're at when 12 minutes it up.

10. Let cool on a cooling rack for a few minutes and enjoy!