Gluten Free Cheese Crackers

When my son was diagnosed with Celiac Disease at the age of 9, he had to make a huge change in his diet, which was hard, because he had to give up many of his favorite munchies. I don't think that I have ever met a child that doesn't love goldfish, or cheese crackers, and Chance was no different. We tried several packaged brands, but he wasn't quite happy with the bite or flavor of them, so once again, I donned my apron and set out to make that child some cheese crackers.

This recipe is the result. Chance swears that they are better than (insert popular cheese cracker brand here), and that is good enough for me.

Away we go...

Ingredients:
1 C (140g) all-purpose gluten-free flour blend (I make my own, but King Arthur is a good one).
2 C (8oz) shredded cheese ( I use sharp, or extra-sharp, but you can experiment)
4 TBSP cold butter, cut into pieces
2 TBSP ice cold water
sea salt, ranch dressing mix, or whatever seasoning you like (original Hidden Valley Ranch is gluten-free).

1.Preheat your oven to 400*F

2. In a food processor, combine flour, cheese, and butter. Pulse until it is mixed well and looks like large crumbs. As you can see, I am old school. My processor has a hand crank ;)

3. Add the water and process until it makes a dough, (or you can work it into a dough with your hands, like I do).

4. Divide your dough into two balls and put one in the fridge to keep cold while you work with the other. 

5. Roll your ball out on a silpat, or parchment to about 1/8 inch thick.  Using a pizza cutter, cut it into 1" squares, or you can use the center piece of a donut cutter. You can use a skewer or toothpick to poke holes in them, if you want. This is when I add my sea salt or other seasoning.

6. Place crackers onto baking sheet, about 1/2 inch apart. They don't spread out much at all. I recommend an insulated sheet, to prevent over browning. 










7. Bake for 8-10 minutes. It takes me 8-9 minutes on an insulated sheet in my convection oven.  Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.  Repeat until dough is used up. Store in an airtight container.

Top left, sea salt, bottom center; Ranch flavored, top right; Cajun Ranch flavored