Homemade Cheez-Its have become a Beantown Baker household favorite since I first made them earlier this year. In this variation, the crackers are cheddar on one side, and chipotle on the other side of the cracker.
I was recently contacted by Cabot Cheese to see if I was interested in a sample. Without a minute of hesitation, I said yes. I fell in love with Cabot’s cheeses while living in New England. It’s a local company and their cheeses are lactose free! Double win for me!
After moving to Ohio, I’ve had a more difficult time finding Cabot cheeses. One of the local grocery stores does carry it, but it’s not the store I go to regularly. When the goodies arrived in the mail, Hubby instantly asked for his favorite snack: Homemade Cheez-Its. I was happy to oblige since I love the cheesy little crackers too.
This time, I wanted to mix things up a bit, so I decided to do two flavors in one. So I made a batch of my homemade cheez-its and mixed smoked chipotle into half of the dough.
After the dough had chilled, I rolled out each half separately, and then stacked one on top of the other to get a two-toned-two-sided cracker. These Cheez It Duoz would be perfect to make for game day munching. Either use the original version, the chipotle version, or combine them to make these duoz!
It was a lot of fun taking one of my favorite recipes of the year and mixing it up a bit. Thanks Cabot for the cheese! We’ve been enjoying it on sandwiches, with crackers, and obviously in crackers as well!
Two Years Ago: BLTs with Homemade Mayo
Three Years Ago: Cuban Black Beans in the Crockpot
Four Years Ago: Lemon Blueberry Ice Cream Bars
Three Years Ago: Baja Fish Tacos
Six Years Ago: Spinach Balls and Cookies and Cream Cupcakes – Take 2
Homemade Cheez-Its have become a Beantown Baker household favorite since I first made them earlier this year. In this variation, the crackers are cheddar on one side, and chipotle on the other side of the cracker.
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp butter, softened
1 Tbsp vegetable shortening
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp cold water
1/2 tsp ground chipotle
Course sea salt for sprinkling
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cheese, butter, shortening and salt on medium-high speed. Reduce speed to medium, slowly add flour and water.
Continue mixing until dough is smooth.
Divide dough into two. Add half of the dough back to the mixer and add ground chipotle. Mix until completely combined.
Create a disc with each half of the dough and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
Roll each disc of dough out a little bit. Then place one piece of dough on top of the other and roll to 1/8" thickness.
Using a ruler as a guide, cut long 1.5" horizontal strips. Rotate ruler to slice vertically, creating 1.5"x1.5" squares. Carefully transfer individual squares to prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining dough.
Using a toothpick or cake tester (I used a straw), create holes in the center of each square.
Sprinkle with course salt. Sprinkle with pepper if using.
Bake for 10-15 minutes. I removed mine at 12 minutes. The time will depend on the thickness of your squares as well as the crispness you prefer. Watch your oven closely from 10 minutes on.
Best eaten the same day. Store remainder in an airtight container.
Recipe adapted from Beantown Baker