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.
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.
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!
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 Recipe
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 84Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 95mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g
These crackers look like the perfect treat to snack on with company! Love the jalapeno and cheddar combo! They sound so buttery and AMAZING! I think I would have a hard time not eating the entire batch before my guests arrive 🙂
Thank you, Kelly! These are lovely when you have company over! I always snag a couple before the guests arrive! 😉
Ooh, these look soo yummy! I think I must make these. 🙂
New England!!! Connecticut would be my first recommendation; Mysitc and Madison are just two of the cities/towns I would recommend. Also, Manchester-by-the-Sea in Massachusetts is a cute, quaint little town located about 40 minutes away from Boston. My mom and I visited it for the first time around Independence Day week and the way it was decorated was so cute! If you would like to know of any more specific places, I would be more than happy to send you a list – just shoot me an email! 🙂
Thanks so much, Lexi!! I am definitely going to take you up on your offer and shoot you an email. I am so excited to try and plan a trip…it would just be such a dream!! I’m imagining the darling red white and blue decor for Independence day around town – how precious! Thank you for sharing your picks! XO
Oh my gosh! I used to watch Gilmore Girls all the time with my mum too!!!!!! It was one of our favourite shows. I’m so glad you just brought it back into my memory, I’m going to make sure I watch some of it with her again soon. I loved it so much! I always wanted to move to that town too, it looked so fun and the scenery was so beautiful. I’m going to be googling for similar towns I can visit now! These biscuits look amazing too, I love the spicy salty combination from the cheese and jalapeño. They sound delicious! <3
Thank you so much, Harriet! I love that you watched the show with your mom too! It’s so fitting as the main characters are a mother-daughter duo. The town they created is beautiful, it would be so fun to find a real-life version! 🙂 Thanks for your sweet comment <3
I don’t watch Gilmore Girls, but there are so many towns in New England that look like what you described. Conrad, NH a touristy but quaint town with little shops, inns and scenic railroad rides. There is beautiful, picturesque seaside town of York Maine. And since I live in Massachusetts, the town of Bolton, Sturbridge, and East Brookfield come to mind. They are towns that have the quintessential NE charm and are beautiful in the fall. You will see the colorful autumn leaves, the dried out cornstalks, the bales of hay, indian corn the scarecrow and smell the crisp New England air…the whole shebang. I hope that helps!
These crackers sound wonderful and with all the fresh ingredients, are steps above the boxed versions. I love the minced jalapeño which adds a bit of zing. I can see how these might become addicting…
Thank you so much, Thao!! That is so helpful! I’ve saved your comment so I can look up each city and hopefully create a travel itinerary with them included. It’s great to get this info from someone who actually lives in New England. It sounds like such a dream <3
Thank you for your sweet and helpful comment <3
These crackers look fantastic! Yes I was a huge fan of Gilmore Girls! I always wanted to go to a town similar to that one as well!
Thanks Kelley! Glad ot know I wasn’t alone in my love for Stars Hollow and Gilmore Girls! <3
Beeta, these crackers are exactly what I want in my life! Its been year since I last made crackers and now I am having a real craving for homemade crackers! Admittedly, I’ve never watched Gilmore Girls before, but I need to watch it.
Thank you, Amanda! Homemade crackers rock, huh! You should definitely watch Gilmore Girls – I really think you’d love it! Maybe while your little girl is sleeping you can catch a couple episodes! 🙂
Yum, these look mega tasty! I crave spicy cheesy things more than I crave cake and chocolate… Wish I had a big bowl of these in front of me right now!
I have watched snippets of Gilmore Girls (comes with the package of going to an all girls boarding school when that show was super popular haha!) but never really got into it. I know I totally could though, actually I was thinking the other day it might be time for me to sit down and watch the entire show through properly. My equivalent dream town is from the show Broadchurch 🙂
Thanks so much, Hannah! You must watch Gilmore Girls – the dialogue is the best. I can totally see why you’d definitely catch snippets going to an all-girls school! I haven’t heard of Broadchurch, but I’m going to look it up now. Does it take place in Australia? 🙂
Ha! OMG, it is creepy how similar we are, Beeta! A couple months ago I finished binge watching Gilmore Girls again on Netflix! Even my husband was into it! I had it streaming in the kitchen whenever I was in there trying to develop a recipe or simply prepare us dinner. Hubs would even sit on a stool at the island and watch it, keeping me company as I chopped or sauteed! SUCH a GREAT show! I have no clue what town to tell you to visit to get your Stars Hallow fix… BUT if you find one similar, you BETTER share the name with me!!! The whole small town vibe is something I toe-ts dig! Plus Luke is pretty dang cute (shhh don’t repeat that!)
Anyways, homemade crackers? Um YES please! Especially ones that are buttery, cheesy AND jalapeno-y! I’m pretty sure that combo is THE definition of #Winning! Loooooooove these! And now I totally want to make some of this crunchy deliciousness, plop my fat you know what on the couch, and stream a lil Gilmore Girls in the background as I google search a town similar to Stars Hallow. lol. Great. 😉 So much for the rest of my productivity! Give me all the jalapeno cheddar crackers and let’s call it a day! <3 Cheers, my sweetness! (<– Or should I now call you spicy pretty lady?) xoxo
LOL! Cheyanne, we are so similar its nuts!! Binge-watching Gilmore Girls is mandatory :p And Luke is so cute! Every time he and Lorelai would break up or a special moment between the two was disrupted, I was like gahh nooooo!!
You will the first person I inform once I find my perfect Stars Hollow town! :p Thanks so much for your kind compliments, as always! And I definitely don’t mind being a little spicy! 😉 XOXO