Cheddar Cheese Crackers – Gluten v. Gluten-free taste test!

Crackers are a staple in my house and I serve them many times as a substitute for bread. And Mr. Tastebuds, a brown-bagger from way back, likes to pack some crackers for his late afternoon snack while at work. Generally, I make a batch of crackers or crispy breadsticks every two weeks or so.

Cheese crackers have been on my ToDo List for a long time now and I’m so glad I finally got around to making them. Darn they were good! And they reminded me of when I was young and we used to visit the Detroit Zoo. We always bought those little boxes of Cheez-it Crackers to snack on and feed to the monkeys. It’s so funny how food brings back such vivid memories.

I made two versions of the crackers using similar recipes, one with unbleached White Flour and Sourdough Starter (ducks and chickens) and a Gluten-free version with Garbanzo Bean Flour and Brown Rice Flour (flowers). I’m pretty sure you could substitute any of the gluten-free flours and next time I make the Cheddar Crackers I’m going to use Corn Flour. The sweetness of the corn flour plus the cheddar cheese sounds DE-licious!

The Gluten-free dough was a bit more difficult to roll out and I had to refrigerate it first because it was sticky. But after refrigerating the dough for about 20 minutes it rolled out just fine. And I used my new set of Easter Cookie Cutters to shape the crackers. Aren’t they cute! I made over 150 crackers and they were all eaten by the next day.

I served the Cheddar Crackers with my version of Elly Kreiger’s Sweet and Spicy Peanut Soup which is always so good. Surprisingly everyone, including picky Mr. Tastebuds, preferred the Gluten-free version of the crackers. They said the taste was about the same but the gluten-free crackers were crispier which is what crackers are all about!

Cheddar Cheese Crackers
Recipe developed in the kitchen of BigBlackDog

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded and lightly packed
1/2 cup flour
1/4-1/2 tsp salt (I used 1/4 tsp salt due to the cheese being a bit salty)
2 TBL sourdough starter

Makes about 75-1″ crackers

1. In a food processor add the butter, cheese, flour, salt and sourdough starter and pulse until thoroughly blended.
2. Sprinkle your pastry cloth with flour and roll out the dough to about 1/8″ thick.
3. Cut the crackers using cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
4. Place crackers on a parchment lined baking sheet.
5. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned and crisp.
6. Remove to a rack and cool.

Gluten-free Cheddar Cheese Crackers
Recipe developed in the kitchen of BigBlackDog

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded and lightly packed
1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4-1/2 tsp salt (I used 1/4 tsp salt due to the cheese being a bit salty)

Makes about 75-1″ crackers

1. In a food processor add the butter, cheese, flours, salt and pulse until thoroughly blended.
2. Form dough into a flat circular disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
3. Sprinkle your pastry cloth with a gluten-free flour and roll out the dough to about 1/8″ thick.
4. Cut the crackers using cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
5. Place crackers on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Bake at 350 degrees until crackers are lightly browned and crisp.
7. Remove to a rack and cool.

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Tagged as: Brown Rice Flour, Cheddar Cheese, Garbanzo Bean Flour, Sourdough Starter