Cheesy-ness

In honor of the birthday (last week) of my childhood BFF (Happy Birthday Laks!!) I bring you Cheesyness today. A "recipe" from childhood, and another adventure into the world of "make-at-home". I've made a lot of sweet things lately, and I just wasn't in the mood for another one this morning. Luckily, I had all of the ingredients for these crackers already! I am excited about them. You should be too!!

But First: the Cheesy Bread.

Because my Mom usually baked homemade bread, we didn't have flimsy store-bought stuff around. And while her homemade bread was (and is!) the fluffiest I've had, it still had more "substance" than store-bought. This makes it especially good for toasting, large sandwiches with tons of fillings, and Cheesy Bread. This was our favorite after-school, after-play, after-snack snack. Yum.

First: Top bread with at LEAST 3 thick slices of cheese. It's okay, this bread can handle it.

Second: Place bread (with cheese) on a plate, napkin, or papertowl.

Third: Cook in the microwave for 25-30 seconds. The cheese should be soft in the middle and bubbly at the edges. You don't want it ALL bubbly, because then it becomes Greasy Bread.

Let cool just a bit, and enjoy. Plates are preferred, otherwise that cheese melds with the papertowel... we ate it anyway, paper bits and all.

You can also do this in the oven... it gets a little bit better "toast", but we were kids. We didn't have time for such nonsense!

Mmmm... cheeeese...

And then there are these little nuggets of happiness. They literally made my day! I've been in a bit of a funk today, (nothing serious) but these cheered me right up. The world is right, where these little darlings exist!

Homemade Cheese Crackers (from Full Fork Ahead)
Printable Recipe

8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded
½ stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons ice water
more kosher salt for sprinkling (optional)

Mix the cheddar, butter, and salt until soft and combined.

Add the flour and mix on low speed (the dough will be dry and pebbly). Slowly add the water and continue to mix as the dough forms a ball.

Pat the dough into a disk, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour. (I lost motivation and mine sat overnight...)

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each into a very thin (1/8 inch or less) 10 x 12-inch rectangle. Using a fluted pastry cutter, (I don't have one... no pretty edges for me!) cut the rectangles into 1-inch squares, then transfer to the baking sheets.

Use the tip of a chopstick to punch a hole into the center of each square.

(I also don't have pointy chopsticks. I used a meat thermometer. You could use the tip of a knife, tine of a fork... be creative!) Stephen suggested sprinkling with kosher salt at this point. We did half with, and half without. We like it with just a teeny bit of kosher salt on top!

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until puffed and browning. Watch carefully, as the high fat content of the crackers makes it a fine line between golden delicious and burnt. Immediately remove the crackers from the pan to cool.

Look how much they puffed!! Probably because they sat so long. The original has nice, lightly puffed, pretty-edged crackers...

I like mine. They're adorable! I want to adopt them all. They make me smile. :)

This is just about perfect. If you let them get much darker they taste burned (trust me, the first half was a bit overdone!)

They're crispy and crackly and some of the poofiest ones even have a tiny bit of soft cheese in the center! I actually like those best! *happy cracker dance*

Next time I'll make a double batch. Scrumptious!! I'm never buying cheese crackers again!!