Homemade Cheesy Squares

I have a friend who LOVES cheese-flavored crackers. And by love, I mean the first time that he offered me food at his apartment, my choices were Cheez-Its and Goldfish. And I must say, that while visiting this friend, I delight in that glorious, cheesy, salty snack — a rare commodity in my house, mostly because my roommates and I just don’t have the will power.

This past week I was I handed a surplus cheddar cheese from the good people of Trickling Springs Union Market.(Ok, I work there on Saturdays and get hooked up with some goods.) I knew I had to be creative in order to keep these blocks of cheese from going bad. (Note: Cheese isn’t porous. If your cheese has some moldy spots on it, cut those off and keep on eating.)

What would you do with so much cheese? (Kristy McCarron/DC on Heels)

Okay so with blocks of beautiful cheddar cheese (raw, white, goat’s cheddar cheese, to be exact), I did some research, and tested out a Cheez-It recipe. Food friends, these homemade Cheez-Its are SO easy and SO good. They’ve got the buttery, salty crisp that makes them impossible to put down and just enough tang of a good cheddar. I will say, next time I make them I’d probably cut back a bit on the butter, but they are certainly a great alternative to those perfect orange squares.

Raw Goat Cheddar Cheese Cheez-Its

(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (I bet most semi-hard cheeses would work)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

 
Directions

Combine all ingredients in food processor. Mix until well combined — ingredients will mass together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough until about 1/8 inch thin between two pieces of parchment paper. Cut into squares (a pizza slicer or pasta cutter may work best) or whatever shape you’d like! Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 12-15 minutes or until just turning brown on the edges. Remove from oven, let cool on rack.

Homemade white cheesy squares (Kristy McCarron/DC on Heels)

And if you get really into it, I’d suggest picking up these mini fish cut-outs for that familiar favorite.