cheddar crackers recipe with cocktails image
| |

Cheddar Crackers Recipe

This cheddar crackers recipe is perfect for your next cocktail hour, or apéro as the French like to call it. It’s cheesy, salty, with a hint if spice from the jalapeño, making it perfect with a whole range of cocktails and wines.

Cheese Crackers Snack

Whenever I’m having a cocktail or glass of bubbly, I’m always craving something salty and crunchy. Easy fixes for this craving include popcorn, olives, or mixed nuts.

All of those are yummy and work just fine, but if you really want to take apéro time up a notch, you’ll definitely want to make these cheddar crackers.

I enjoy pretty much any cheese crackers snack that exists on the market, whether it’s Goldfish crackers, Cheez-Its, Ritz cheese crackers…you name it, I’ve eaten it!

That said, those crackers tend to be more of the unrefined kind of thing I reserve for road trip snacking. They’re not the kind of crackers I keep at home or pair with a glamorous drink.

For that, you’ll want this cheddar cracker recipe.

cheddar crackers recipe in a bowl

Best Cheese Crackers

These are simply the best cheese crackers. The best way to describe them is to say they’re like a cheesy shortbread cookie.

You know how shortbread cookies are super buttery and just melt in your mouth? So do these crackers.

The only difference is, instead of whipping up our dough with sugar and vanilla, we’re using lots of cheese and a little jalapeño.

These easy cheese crackers recipe is also so simple to make. I dumped everything into a food processor, making the process super fast.

cheddar crackers close up image

You also don’t have to fuss much with the dough once it’s created. You simply dump the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, clump the dough together and then wrap it up in the plastic.

Once it’s in the plastic wrap, you can then mold the clump of dough into a log shape and pop it into the fridge.

After 30 minutes or so, the dough should be nicely chilled and easy to slice into 1/4″ to 1/2″ wide slices.

I freeze extra dough slices in a ziplock bag so I can just bake a few crackers at a time, whenever I need them, so they’re always fresh and utterly delightful!

cheddar crackers apero image

What goes with cheddar crackers?

You can honestly have a whole range of cocktails and drinks with cheddar crackers, but my favorite are fruity cocktails or a fabulous glass of champagne.

I find the salty aspects works as a nice contrast to fruity cocktails, and salty food just always tends to work well with champagne.

cheddar crackers close up image

Cheddar Crackers Recipe

Yield: 36
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Cheesy, salty crackers that are perfect with any cocktail this holiday season!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 14 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 5 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 tbsp minced seeded jalapeño pepper
  • 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
  • 3 tbsp ice water
  • 1 egg yolk, beaten, for egg wash

Instructions

  1. Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder together in the bowl of a food processor. Add in the cubed butter and pulse until you get a mixture that looks like coarse meal. Alternatively, if you're not using a food processor, you can use a pastry blender or fork to cut the butter into the flour.
  2. Add the grated cheddar, minced jalapeño, and chili powder; pulse in the food processor. Stream in a little bit of ice water, 1 tbsp at a time and pulsing for 10 seconds each time, until a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
  3. Turn out the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Pack the dough into a compact shape then wrap completely in the plastic. Once it's wrapped, mold the dough into a log shape, rolling it on the counter and using your hands to mold it into a smooth log. Let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until it's chilled.
  4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the log into about 1/4" to 1/2" inch thick slices and place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the crackers with a light coat of the beaten egg before baking them for approximately 10 to 15 minutes until the crackers are nicely golden and beginning to brown along the edges. Transfer the crackers to a cooling rack until they're just slightly warm and have had a chance to firm up a bit.

Notes

recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 36 Serving Size: 1 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 84Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 95mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g

Similar Posts

31 Comments

  1. I’ve never watched Gilmore Girls, but have heard about it. It seems to be quite popular. New England sounds like a lovely diversion and although I’ve never been, It’s a place I’d love to visit. You know, depending on the experience you want, there are some quaint beach towns in North Carolina too. It’s been 12 years since I’ve been, but I have very fond memories. And there’s nothing wrong with binge watching Netflix. Sometimes in our hurried, hectic lives, we need that! I could definitely snack on these crackers while watching Netflix. The flavors, Beeta!! The cheese and jalapeño are ingredients that make my mouth water! Can you imagine these dipped in a cool ranch type dressing or like you mentioned, a big bowl of soup? OMGeee! Thank you for this! xx

  2. Oh boy, do these look delicious. I can think of TOO many ways to serve these: with soup, with a simple salad, with Champagne, alongside a brothy soup….

    I’ve never seen Gilmore Girls, but you’ve piqued my interest.

    1. Thank you, Marissa! These crackers go well with all your ideas…which have also made me very hungry now!! :p Also, you must see Gilmore Girls – it’s a great show!! XO

    1. Thanks so much Louise! They are definitely dangerous!! 😉 and there are so many beautiful places in the U.S.! I have yet to see so many of them still too 🙂

  3. Beeta, I love homemade cheese crackers so much (especially spicy ones) and your recipe looks delicious! Easy too, which is what I like 🙂 I moved to New England from my home state of Florida a few years ago and my favorite small town is Ogunquit (name means beautiful place by the sea) on the Maine seacoast. I was lucky enough to live there for a year before moving to New Hampshire. We lived right in town and right next door to the ocean, the best candy store in the world (all handmade and family owned for generations), bakery, old fashioned toy store, old movie theater, and some of the most fabulous restaurants I’ve ever been to (Five-O Shore was our favorite and I felt like Norm on Cheers every time I walked in). The town even has a quaint village market store where they sell local produce, wine, cheeses, etc. There’s Perkins Cove (an artist cove with tons of art galleries) and Marginal Way (a scenic walking trail along the rocky ocean cliffs) and the Ogunquit Playhouse is right down the street. You should Google it and look for videos on YouTube that people have taken of walking around the town. It gets crazy in the summer and the best time to visit is in the Spring or Fall so it’s less crowded. It was the best place for me to live during my first New England winter season because even if we had a really bad snow storm, places would still be open. We would walk to a restaurant and everyone knows each other so it was always like a big dinner party! AND it doesn’t matter how much wine you drink at dinner or how much it is snowing outside because you walk home!!! Yay!! I could go on and on! It was the best time ever and I would love to own a summer place there one day. Look it up and if you decide to come visit, please let me know if you have any questions about planning the trip. Also, I’ll come over to meet you for lunch one day 🙂

    1. Thank you SO much Karrie!! Wow I just looked up the town and I am in LOVE! It’s exactly the kind of town I would love to live in!! If you don’t mind, I am going to email you with questions!! Eeep I can’t wait!! I would love nothing more than to have lunch with you in NE! Xoxo

  4. These look delicious and would be perfect for having friends over for a show or movie. Love the idea about freezing them so they are ready to bake when you need them.

    1. Thanks so much, Justin! Freezing them makes throwing an impromptu get together that much easier! 🙂

  5. Oh I love cheese crackers! Totally never thought to make them at home, I must try! Oh I am a huge gilmore girls fan! The closest thing I’ve ever seen on TV to Stars Hollow was Bluebell from Hart of Dixie! I just love that small town feel where everything is celebrated and there are so many quirky characters. I did a Warner Bros Studio tour a few years ago and got to walk through ‘Stars Hollow’ as it was. And also wander into Lorelai and Sookie’s house! So much fun!

    1. Thank you, Jess! That is sooo cool that you got to see the Stars Hollow set! It’s funny because I live about 1 hour away from the Warner Bros Studio and I never went to see the set! I should have 🙁 I also love Bluebell too (and Hart of Dixie). I agree, the best part is the fact that there are quirky people and everything is celebrated! :p

  6. These crackers look so good Beeta. I love jalapenos almost too much! I would probably have to add more cheese on top of these. Naughty I know.

    Nice to see you used a good English cheese like Cheddar. x

    1. Thank you, Angela! I’m all for the naughty…I often serve these on a cheese plate anyways! 😉

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *