Cheese Cracker Bites

My guilty pleasure is processed cheese-flavor snacks — Cheeez-Its, Nacho Cheese Doritos, Club & Cheddar Sandwich Crackers — you get the picture. I try to relegate consumption to one snack size bag about 4x/year.

BUT I LOVE CHEESE SNACKS! And I finally found a recipe that can sate my craving, uses basic ingredients and is super simple and quick to make. It comes from Mark Bittman in NYT Cooking. I make a batch every few weeks now.

I munch on the cheese cracker bites as an anytime snack. My friend in Tokyo with whom I shared the recipe enjoys the crackers with a glass of red wine.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (my preferred cheese but you can use parmesan or any other hard cheese you fancy)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

PREPARATION

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add all the ingredients except the heavy cream in a food processor and pulse until well combined.

While the processor is running, add the heavy cream. Add more heavy cream a little at a time until the mixture holds together.

Place the mixture on parchment paper, lightly flour, and roll to about 1/4″ thick (though this is a matter of preference).

Use a pizza cutter or pastry wheel or a knife to cut the crackers into your desired size.

Bake about 15 minutes, until the crackers puff and are lightly browned.

Cool on a wire rack and store at room temperature. These are best enjoyed the day-of, though they will keep for a few days.