DIY Food

How to Make Cheez-Its at Home

by:
June  3, 2014

All week long, our very own Jennifer Steinhauer from Weeknights with Jenny will be sharing recipes from her new book Treat Yourself: 70 Classic Snacks You Loved as a Kid (and Still Love Today). Follow along to win one of five copies we’re giving away -- and to take a trip down memory lane. 

Today: A throwback to after-school soccer practices and the bags of Cheez-Its that accompanied them. 

Cheez-Its on Food52

Shop the Story

I directly associate this snack with tomato soup, the perfect pairing throughout junior high, when consumed post-soccer practice in front of reruns of "The Rockford Files." 

The dough for our recipe is prepared in a food processor because, as Gail the baker explains, "the sharp blade and its fast rotation cuts the cheese into tiny bits quickly, dispersing them through the dough to promote a flakier texture." If you spooned these out into little balls, people would think they were a high-end cocktail snack. Cut into squares, with a neatness level that will depend on how compulsive you are, they are a bagged lunch treat completely loyal to the original. The paprika is responsible for the tang; the better the cheese you use, the sharper and more elegant the taste, yet they will still remain distinctly Cheez-It-esque.

Cheez-Its

Makes approximately 120 one-inch cheese crackers

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup vegetable oil

See the full recipe (and save it and print it) here. 

We're giving away a copy of Treat Yourself every day this week! To enter to win today's copy, tell us in the comments: What was your go to after-school snack? We'll pick five winners at random next Monday, June 9th!

Photo by James Ransom. Excerpted from the book Treat Yourself: 70 Classic Snacks You Loved as a Kid (and Still Love Today) by Jennifer Steinhauer. Reprinted by permission of Clarkson Potter Publishers. All rights reserved.

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Carrie
    Carrie
  • Erin Lynch
    Erin Lynch
  • Aprilgottfried
    Aprilgottfried
  • Tenley
    Tenley
  • Karlene
    Karlene
Jestei

Written by: Jestei

The ratio of people to cake is too big.

64 Comments

Carrie June 5, 2014
Apples and peanut butter! I still snack on them as an adult ;)
 
Erin L. June 5, 2014
We always had ramen noodles at my house after school.
 
Aprilgottfried June 4, 2014
Bagal Bites!
 
Tenley June 4, 2014
Fig Newtons were my go to... when I take a bite of one today, I am instantly brought back to sitting in my childhood kitchen after school.
 
Karlene June 4, 2014
Apple wedges with crunchy peanut butter.. it's the best and it's really healthy for you.
 
AntoniaJames June 4, 2014
Karlene, those were also one of my favorite snacks then, and are one of my favorite snacks today, though I more often reach for unsalted raw almond butter these days. ;o)
 
Karlene June 4, 2014
I must try the almond butter, thanks.
 
BakerRB June 4, 2014
Rice Krispy Treats were my go-to, often with chocolate chips and peanut butter mixed in.
 
alliejones June 4, 2014
In high school I used to make M&M cookies after school a lot. Or a toasted Lender's bagel (not worthy of recreation in a cook book) with cream cheese and jam. Jenny's book looks soooo fun.
 
lich June 4, 2014
Since I was a latchkey kid, and my parents didn't come home until 6pm, I used make myself the oddest things to eat. One of my favorite snacks (or meals, I should say) was cooking ramen noodles and only adding about a teaspoon of butter, salt, and pepper (never used the flavoring packet). It made me feel like a grown-up cooking for myself.
 
CarlaCooks June 4, 2014
I was also a big fan of cheez-its and goldfish. Now that I live abroad, whenever someone from the States visits, I always ask for a bag of goldfish!
 
lisina June 4, 2014
So funny! We always bring my cousin in Italy Costco sized boxes of cheese its when we visit. They are usually gone before we leave. I just sent her this recipe, though, I'm not even sure she'll be able to get her hands on cheddar cheese.
 
CarlaCooks June 6, 2014
You are a very good cousin! Does your cousin have access to Mimolette (it's a French cheese that has a similar taste to cheddar)? Otherwise, Dorie Greenspan's recipe for cheez-it-ish crackers uses Emmenthal and/or Gruyere, and those crackers are tasty even without being cheddar!
 
Mulzee June 4, 2014
goldfish or pasta with butter and parmigiano! depending on how lazy I was feeling.
 
Yael E. June 4, 2014
Oreos and a big tall glass of cold milk!
 
redorgreen126 June 3, 2014
Toasted Eggo waffle with a drizzle of melted butter and a smear of strawberry jam topped with Reddi-whip.
 
Melody J. June 3, 2014
I loved potato chips.
 
Heather June 3, 2014
Ritz crackers dipped in hot chocolate with a spoonful of fluff
 
swscovell June 3, 2014
cheese melted on a ritz
 
Rachel June 3, 2014
Cinnamon toast!
 
Aleksey L. June 3, 2014
I know it sounds too healthy but I have to go with fruit. I could easily go through a hand of bananas in 20-30 minutes.
 
aegan June 3, 2014
Crushed cheddar cheese Ruffles, and sour cream. Mixed in a bowl. Eaten with a spoon. Pure bliss, and I still eat it.
 
jeneric June 3, 2014
cheddar cheese on toast. Mom thought snack food was too caloric.
 
skb June 3, 2014
Kid: quick popsicle out of the freezer (anything but orange!), then out the door and on my bike. Teenager: massive bowl of cereal in front of Santa Barbara soap opera.
 
Jo O. June 3, 2014
Homemade meatloaf!
 
spiffypaws June 3, 2014
molasses cookies and milk, I'm a Yankee!
 
rmcgrudiva June 3, 2014
Bread. Squishy white sandwich bread, that I loved to roll up into a ball. Oh! And fried bologna sandwiches. Yummmmm!
 
WinnieAb June 3, 2014
I used to eat a twix bar pretty much every day after gymnastics practice!
 
Moira A. June 3, 2014
After school snack was always mom's homemade baking, particularly oatmeal squares. Mmmmmm... sweettooth.
 
Hillary June 3, 2014
I'm only slightly ashamed to admit it was a nice sized bowl of puffed Cheetos. Licking my fingers at the end might have been my favorite part...
 
Gibson2011 June 3, 2014
easy: milk and cookies.
 
caelvan June 3, 2014
I'd come home and have a bowel of instant ramen noodles.
 
LucyS June 3, 2014
In the winter, it was a ritual of cheese and crackers/cookies and a cup of tea (other seasons sporting practices always precluded being able to have an after-school snack). We always had cheez-its at sporting events in college, though.
 
Lkbixby June 3, 2014
Definitely gushers. And open face PB&J on heavily toasted bread.
 
Omitat June 3, 2014
Go to after-school snack? For a long time it was peanut butter on celery! Who could say no to that. I still eat it today (except with almond butter now)!
 
Meg M. June 3, 2014
Cheez-its - oh yum! However, my go to snack was pb & j. loved it!
 
Cassieanne June 3, 2014
I can't eait to make these!! My brother used to make us broiled cheese toast, or broiled peanut butter toast! Still one of my favorite afternoon snacks!
 
SuzannahJane June 3, 2014
Cheddar cheese quesadilla with scallions, done in the microwave :)
 
K_Squared June 3, 2014
Gushers, fruit roll ups, fruit snacks - you get the gist ;)
 
Liza's K. June 3, 2014
SmartFood popcorn. I loved licking the artificial cheese off of my fingers.
 
Teruska June 3, 2014
Fruit.
 
Choirbell June 3, 2014
Peanut butter and brown sugar sandwich on white bread... love it while the brown sugar was still a bit crunchy!!! Mmmmmm
 
enbe June 3, 2014
Puffin cereal. Yum :)
 
LeeLeeBee June 3, 2014
Cheese popcorn - the bomb!
 
Bascula June 3, 2014
Ritz crackers with peanut butter. Or something my mother had baked - she was a stay at home mom and baked a lot.
 
sunflourbaking June 3, 2014
Velveeta on Wonder Bread, of course!
 
Hanna J. June 3, 2014
String cheese dipped in pizza sauce!
 
ChefJune June 3, 2014
Until I was in 8th grade I had a stay-at-home mom who loved to bake, so most afternoons we had fresh home made cookies. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, Soft Cream Jumbles, always wonderful.
 
AntoniaJames June 3, 2014
Okay, so you've changed the question from what was posted earlier this morning. My favorite after-school treat? Saltines with crunchy peanut butter! Sometimes open faced, sometimes not -- and I'd squeeze the peanut butter out around the edges and lick it off when my mother was not looking! Then I'd eat an apple and take the core out to my pony before riding. I had the best childhood ever. ;o)
 
DianaB June 3, 2014
Slices of cold cuts, consumed while standing on one leg, propping the fridge door open with the other. Or on a plate, if my mother was around.
 
CrabCakes June 3, 2014
Potato chips - we got one bag a week between me and my brother, so while we could ration them out, they usually only lasted an afternoon. After that.....I usuallu snacked from whatever I made/started for dinner.
 
Erin June 3, 2014
Ants On A Log - celery, peanut butter, raisins. Fun to make and eat!
 
saga June 3, 2014
I ate roasted peanuts and it still is my goto snack.
 
CheapBeets June 3, 2014
Cheese melted on anything.
 
littleknitter June 3, 2014
I loved Donettes! I used to stop by the corner store on my way home from school and get some.
 
Crystal June 3, 2014
I used to have instant Lipton Cup-o-Soup after school every day in my grandmother's kitchen. So good.
 
GourMel June 3, 2014
A hot bag of popcorn made homework slightly more tolerable
 
LLStone June 3, 2014
Ding Dongs!
 
fiveandspice June 3, 2014
My husband is obsessed with cheez-its and insists that there's no point in even making a a homemade version because they ways taste too fancy and that's beside the point of cheez-its. But I'm going to try these anyway! My go to snack was always bread with butter and cheese. OR if we could get them cranberry newtons. Those were the best. I wish they still made them.
 
heyjude June 3, 2014
Fluffernutter
 
mcs3000 June 3, 2014
I can't wait for this book. Congrats, Jenny! Ditto, @AntonioJames. Hostess fruit pies were my childhood fave.
 
Andrew June 3, 2014
I absolutely love hostess cakes.
 
Merrill S. June 3, 2014
Cheez-Its are my guilty pleasure/only in airports and at rest stops thing. Can't wait to make these! (I know Clara will love them too.)
 
AntoniaJames June 3, 2014
My favorite Hostess treat? The little fruit pies. I never understood the fascination with Twinkies, which are akin to what I imagine yesterday's Wall Street Journal must taste like, without the benefit of an interesting read first. ;o)