THE BEST CRACKER IN THE WORLD!

Okay, that title may have been a little obnoxious with the caps and all but I'm just SO EXCITED to share these with you!!! Earlier today I begged my brother for a favor to no avail. Finally I whipped out the big guns: 'in exchange for this favor... I will make you homemade mock Cheez-Its!' and just like that the deal was on! 

 

Shortly after the batch came out of the oven I regretted the deal with my brother. Instead of me selfishly enjoying every single delicious cracker to myself I had to hand over half the batch (with a forced smile). This doesn't seem like a big deal now but you will understand the second you taste one of these bad boys.

And here I am, curled up in a little ball on the couch, enjoying my last Cheez-It. Oh, I'm having withdrawals already.

3/4 cup flour (AP or AP gluten free)
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
1 cup Daiya Cheddar cheese (delicious soy-free vegan cheese made from pea protein)
3 tablespoons vegan butter, softened (I used my butter!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ice water

Preheat oven to 375° F. In an electric stand mixer beat together the butter and cheese until blended. In a bowl mix together the flour, gum, and salt, then add half of the flour mixture into the cheese mixture- once it is fully incorporated add the remaining flour mixture. Add in the water and with a rubber spatula scrape down the sides of the mixture, mix until everything is incorporated. Since the weather down south is so humid I ended up using closer to 1 1/4 cups of flour after adding the water- I probably could have omitted the water and used less flour. You want the mixture to be workable so you can knead it a few times until you can form a ball. Divide the dough ball in half and place one half in the refrigerator, the other half you want to roll out on parchment paper to roughly 1/4 inch thick (or less). Using a pizza/pastry cutter (or in my case, a non-serrated knife) cut little squares. Carefully transfer them one at a time to a parchment paper lined baking sheet using a metal spatula, this is time consuming and requires patience since the squares are so delicate. Using a toothpick poke a hole in the center of each square. Sprinkle the crackers with some coarse salt and pop them in the oven for 13-17 minutes. While the soon to be crackers are cooking repeat the process with the remaining dough from the fridge. Storage won't even be a problem because I have no doubt in my mind these will be gone the second they come out of the oven.


Recipe from the lovely Fork and Beans. Oh, you better believe next time I make these it will be in mass quantities!