I think my children could eat their weight in Cheez-Its or goldfish crackers if given the opportunity. I don’t buy either one regularly (unless there’s a good sale and I have a coupon!), but that means I’m often scrambling to find something to pack in their lunches or dole out as an afternoon snack. I’ve been meaning to try this recipe for a long time, but I knew anything involving a cookie cutter–especially a teeny tiny fish-shaped one–was going to be filed under Too Fussy in my book. Finally it occurred to me that I could just cut the crackers into squares. I know! What a revelation! I happen to have a fluted pastry wheel, so that made the edges decorative, but a pizza cutter or a knife would work just as well. These took about 15 minutes of prep, with another 15 minutes for chilling and 15 minutes for baking. Not bad at all.

The trouble with these little crackers is simply that one batch is not enough. I am going to have to hide them from myself. The cheese flavor sings out and they are satisfyingly crispy. It makes me wonder what other flavor combinations might work…add some herbs? A little garlic? I do know that next time, I’m going to double the recipe.

      Whole wheat cheese crackers

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups grated hard cheese (I used a combination of cheddar, colby jack, Jarlsberg and Pecorino Romano)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/8 tsp. onion powder

4 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Put all ingredients into the food processor. Pulse a couple of times, and then run the processor for about 2 minutes, or until the dough is well-mixed and easily pressed into a ball. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or freeze for 15 minutes). Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch between two sheets of wax paper. Cut the dough into 1-inch squares with a pastry wheel, pizza cutter, or sharp knife. Transfer squares to an ungreased baking sheet and prick each one with a fork. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a rack and cool completely.

Makes approximately 100 crackers.