I can pretty easily refuse most salty snacks. Chips? Who needs ’em. Fries? Can’t be bothered. Pretzels? They just make me thirsty. But when it comes to Cheez-Its, I am defenseless. As an avid label reader, I should refuse to eat them, because the ingredients list alone (thiamine mononitrate, anyone?) should be enough to scare me away. And while I refuse to buy them myself, if someone puts a box of Cheez-Its in front of me, I will devour its contents before you could ask “What exactly is TBHQ?” or “If oleoresin is used for color, what color is it?”
But lately, my guilt about the ingredients has been getting the best of me. I can’t justify chowing down on something made of things which I mostly can’t pronounce or even buy at the grocery store. Since I love to bake, I figured I’d see if I could make my own, and it turned out that coming up with a recipe for these little crackers wasn’t too difficult, and it was actually pretty fun, too. My favorite part? The orange color that the annatto seeds dyed the baked snacks. Give it a try, and I bet you’ll never go back to the store-bought, junk-filled version of these cheesy crackers again.
STEP #1 STRAIN AND COOL IT
STEP #2 ▼
Mix the crushed annatto seeds with hot water and let them steep for 5 minutes. The finer the seeds are ground, the more orange in color the crackers will be. Strain and discard the seeds and place the liquid in an ice bath until cool.
STEP #7 FORM IT
STEP #8 ▼
Mix it until a dough ball forms (you might need to use an additional tablespoon of water if the dough seems dry).
STEP #8 CHILL IT
STEP #9 ▼
Transfer the dough to the counter, flatten it into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and put it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
STEP #10 ROLL IT
STEP #11 ▼
Roll the dough to 1/16 of an inch. Try to keep it in a rectangular shape if you can.
STEP #11 CUT IT
STEP #12 ▼
Cut the dough into 1-inch squares using a beveled-edge ravioli cutter (if you don’t have one you can also use a pizza cutter or a knife).
STEP #13 POKE IT
STEP #14 ▼
Using the blunt end of a skewer, poke a hole in the center of each square.
About the Author: Carolynn Purpura MacKay
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I am disappointed that as test cook you don’t know that thiamine mono nitrate is one of the B vitamins. Also, tbhq is an antioxidant to keep oily.greasy foods from going rancid. So don’t try to keep the homemade crackers like the storebought ones. PS not associated with snack food industry.
Diana
Looks wonderful! I’ve been wanting a cheese cracker recipe for years!
thiamine mononitrate is a synthetic form of the vitamin and is found in lots and lots of processed foods which, in aggregate, isn’t good for you. And I don’t think the homemade crackers will last long enough to go rancid.
I make my own pain de mie since I became very frustrated with the high cost and low quality of bread at the supermarkets (which always has thiamine mononitrate along with HFCS, etc.) and 2 pullman loaves don’t last long enough to grow furry.
I’m nipping off to Penzy’s at lunch to go get some annatto seeds so I can make these tonight as the only thing more addictive than cheez-its are triscuits (which I nibble on far too much)!
Are you kidding me? I must try this. I don’t have a stand mixer though, I wonder if a food processor would work? I suppose I could try it by hand.
While I agree with you about Cheez-its’ ingredient list I was amused by the example you picked. Vitamin B1 just isn’t that scary (to me, at least).
eashton – fortunately for us Triscuit addicts, Triscuits are made with ‘real’ food: whole grain soft white wheat, soybean oil, sea salt. (Note: I haven’t the faintest idea if Triscuits are made with GMOs, as I don’t mind them myself.)
So, I made these tonight and they’re delicious but… my crackers puffed up a bit and shrank, too. I used a high quality cheddar and white whole wheat flour in place of the AP. Any idea why that might have happened? Otherwise, they were perfect.
Why can’t you leave out the annatto water if it is only for color and also skip the salt which isn’t good for you. I know the purists will scream.
I’ve already been making my own Chesse-its using a recipe from Ready Made. It’s on Pinterest if you want to compare, which I find interesting. I always use my Silpat when I make them, instead of parchment because I can slow down the baking a little. I recommend you really watch them carefully so they don’t burn. The line between perfectly crisp and burnt to a crisp is very thin. I’ve been making them as Christmas gifts for a few years now in a bunch of flavors– cayenne, rosemary, thyme, garlic– and they’ve always been really well received. You can be creative because the fat is forgiving. I feel more connected to eating ‘junk food’ when I know what’s in it and have to make it myself. I can’t wait to try this recipe, as soon as I locate some amaretto seeds.
Barbara, I use my food processor from start to finish. Shred the cheese, change out the disc for the dough blade, and continue
Actually, you’ve used flour in this recipe. In the US all flour must contain thiamine mononitrate by law (which is, likely, where it came from in the commercial cracker) and it is listed on the flour bag as an ingredient. If you’re an avid label reader, this should include reading the labels on the ingredients you are using.
I must agree with dianaupp’s comment. Thiamine? Really? That scares you?
Oleoresin, by the way, is probably “oleoresin capsicum,” which is the red color extracted from red chile peppers. It is a natural red coloring which is used in food and cosmetics. A large portion of the New Mexico red chile acreage is devoted to production of mild red chiles that are harvested, dried and ground, and then used for oleoresin extraction.
@Roselyn: The color is just for fun, and if you want to leave it out that’s fine. But salt is NOT bad for you. It’s essential for your body to function, but not at the levels that Americans typically consume through the vehicle of processed foods. Using salt in homemade snacks like this is perfectly safe.
Seems that the salt step might be better done immediately after rolling out the dough. That way you could get an even layer at once, without worrying about seasoning them individually. You could even go one step further and lightly roll the salt into the dough to ensure it sticks.