Soft Cheese Crackers from Scratch

Marilyn's Cheese Crackers from Scratch

These little gems are a family favorite. They're rich, salty, cheesy. Mmm. They're kind of like a cheese cookie, if that makes sense. Crisp on the edges, soft and chewy in the middle. We usually make them using a small jar of Kraft Old English Sharp Cheddar Cheese Spread, but I since it's really just made of cheddar cheese, I thought I'd try using some block Cabot sharp cheddar I have in my fridge. And it worked beautifully. Same gorgeous results without any preservatives. 

These are great for a decadent breakfast or brunch treat, afternoon snack, or appetizers for a party. 

Heads up, this recipe requires a food processor. No way around that.

(Click here for original recipe with the Kraft jarred cheese spread.)

Marilyn's Cheese Crackers from Scratch

Ingredients:

• 5 ounces quality sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Place grated cheese in the bowl of a food processor and process until nearly a paste. It probably won't completely turn to paste, but will sort of bunch up into a sort of dry cottage cheese texture. 
• Add the butter and salt, and process until smooth.
• Add flour, pulse a few times and then process until flour is incorporated. 
• Remove blade, carefully scraping off any dough and then incorporate any flour or cheese left of sides of bowl.
• Make balls using about 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of dough and place at least 2 inches apart on baking sheet.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 11-12 minutes or until puffed and well browned on edges.
• Allow to cool 5 minutes or so before eating.
• Store any leftovers in an airtight container and consume within 1 day.

Makes 20 crackers

Cheese, butter and salt processed smooth

After mixing in flour

I scooped dough with cookie scoop before rolling smooth

Almost like a cheesy macaron

Clearman's Cheese Spread Copycat Recipe

Copycat Clearman's Cheese Spread

One of the restaurants our family used to go to way back in California the 1970s and 1980s was Steak 'N Stein. All I remember is that the decor was mostly red, and that they served the most delicious cheese bread in the world -- a slice of sourdough with a garlicky, cheesy, somewhat greasy spread that also had a little bit of a spicy bite to it. Mmm. 

My mom found the spread at the grocery store, and every summer when we would visit my parents from our new home in Iowa, Mom would make lots of this cheese bread for me and my kids. Now that Mom and Dad are gone, and our visits to California are not quite the same, I thought it was time to try out this copycat recipe on Food.com. 

After reading the reviews, I made a couple of adjustments, and I have to say, even if this isn't exactly the recipe, it's close enough, and it's delicious. If you do make this, be sure to find (or make) some real tangy sourdough bread on which to spread this if you want a more authentic, nostalgic experience.

Enjoy.

Clearman's Cheese Spread Copycat Recipe
Adapted from Food.com


Ingredients:

• 1 cup margarine, softened/room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4-6 drops Tobasco sauce
• 8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1.5 ounces grated Romano cheese
• 1.5 ounces grated/powdered Parmesan cheese

• Slices of real sourdough bread (don't know yet how many slices this will make)

Instructions:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the margarine, garlic powder, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and Tobasco sauce until completely combined and fluffy, if possible. (You can also use a regular hand mixer if you don't have a stand mixer.)
• Fold in the cheeses.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Spread a generous layer of the cheese spread on one side of a slice of sourdough bread.
• Bake at 425 for about 5-7 minutes and then turn on the broiler for about 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly and bread is as browned as you like it.
• Allow to cool a bit before eating.
• Refrigerate leftover cheese spread for later use.

Makes about 1 3/4 to 2 cups of cheese spread

Refrigerated leftovers

Puffy Cheese Crackers (gluten free, but not necessarily)

Delicious Puffy Cheese Cracker

I found this recipe from Chef In Training via Pinterest. Not that I need another cheese cracker recipe in my life, but I have been craving Cheeze Crackers ala Marilyn. Cheapskate me, though, didn't want to spend the $2.99 on a jar of Kraft Old English processed cheese. 
This recipe is great because it's basically my mom's cheese cracker recipe, but with real cheddar cheese, which costs about $2.50 less than the jar of Old English. Score.
I made these gluten free because I am still attempting to limit my gluten. With all of the butter and cheese, though, you can't really tell the flour is not made with wheat.
These tasty little treats are salty, cheesy, warm, and absolutely satisfying. The dough freezes perfectly for baking up just a few at a time, or if you just want to plan ahead.
 
Puffy Cheese Crackers
    --Adapted from Chef In Training

Ingredients:

• 4 oz medium to sharp cheddar cheese
• 7 tablespoons butter (I use salted butter)
• 1 cup Better Batter Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (or your choice of flour)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Get out your food processor and put in the grater attachment. Grate the cheese and the butter.
• Transfer the grated cheese and butter to a medium mixing bowl and then replace the grater attachment in your food processor with the blade attachment.
• Add the grated butter and cheese back into the food processor (fitted with the blade now). Mix until the butter and cheese are completely incorporated.
• Add the flour and salt. Mix until a dough forms and creates a cohesive ball (or other solid shape--mine looked like a fat sausage).
• Transfer dough to the bowl you used for the butter and cheese earlier.
• Scoop about two teaspoons of dough out and roll into a ball. Place ball on prepared baking sheet and gently press on the top, just enough so that the ball won't roll off the pan.
• Place additional balls onto the pan, leaving about 1 1/2 to 2 inches between balls of dough.
• Bake at 375 degrees for about 9-10 minutes, or until puffed and possibly browning on the edges just slightly.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 3-5 minutes. Remove to a serving plate and enjoy, taking care not to burn yourself.
• Continue to roll and bake the remaining dough.

* If you would like to freeze some to bake off later, line with wax paper a small pan that will fit into your freezer. Form the balls and press to keep from rolling. Freeze formed balls until firm and then transfer to a zip top freezer bag. When ready to bake, put the dough balls on the pan while the oven preheats, and bake as directed above.

• Makes about 1 1/2 to 3 dozen puffy cheese crackers

Cheese and butter all mixed (well, mostly)

The completed dough

Dough balls formed for freezing -- each is about 1 1/2 cm in diameter.

Ready to go into the oven

Baked, puffed, and done

Beef Wontons

Beef Wontons

Wontons are my mom's specialty (check out Mom's Wontons), but for some reason I just don't like eating them because the pork inside just doesn't seem right to me. I know, I'm a weirdo. I can't explain it. Anyway, when I decided to make won tons for my school staff's end of the year party, I wanted to make sure that my non-pork eating friends and I were able to enjoy them too. My husband's Aunt Willa makes these fabulous egg rolls with a peppery ground beef, carrot, and cabbage filling, so I figured that would make a great filling for wontons too. And it DOES. Thanks, Aunt Willa, for sharing the recipe with me. So these are it. I like a lot of pepper in mine, so I don't actually know the exact amount I put in. The amount stated below is an estimate. This filling tastes meaty, salty, and slightly sweet, with just enough veggies to give it some flavor and make you feel like you're eating something that might be good for you. I don't think these actually are good for your body, but I think they're great for your soul. They made several people happy the other night, including me. So there.


Beef Wontons

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef (90/10)
• 1 cup carrots, shredded
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup cabbage, shredded or thinly chopped
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 package (60 count) wonton wrappers
• canola oil for frying

Instructions:
In a medium frying pan over medium heat, brown the ground beef. When nearly cooked through, add the carrots, onions, cabbage, pepper, sugar, salt, and soy sauce. Carefully stir to cook the veggies. When cabbage starts to wilt, turn the heat off and allow mixture to sit for about 15 minutes to cook a little more and cool slighlty.
Line a cooling rack with paper towels and set aside.
When mixture is cool enough to work with, place one won ton wrapper on a clean plate and wet two adjacent sides with water. Place about one scant tablespoon of filling in the middle of the square and carefully fold in half, creating a triangle shape. Seal the seams by pressing firmly with the sides of your hands/pinky fingers. Place a little dab of water on one of the longer pointy ends. Pick up the triangle with the central point facing downward and bring the two long points together at the top and cross them. Place the non-wet tip on top of the wet one and press to seal. (See below for video of how to fold wontons.) Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. Set assembled but uncooked wontons on a wax paper lined baking sheet to wait.
Place about three inches of canola oil in a pot you use for frying. Heat oil over a medium heat until the temperature reaches about 360 degrees Fahrenheit, or a little piece of wonton wrapper placed in the oil fries and bubbles immediately when it's put in the hot oil.
When oil is ready, carefully place several wontons in the hot oil, being careful not to plop them in and burn yourself with splashing oil. I cook about 5-6 at a time. Turn wontons over (if they will let you) to make sure they brown all over. When wontons reach a nice golden brown color, remove them to the paper towel lined cooling rack. Allow won tons to cool for 5-10 minutes before attempting to eat.
Makes about 50-60 wontons.

Beef, carrot, and cabbage filling

Wontons ready to fry

Puff Pastry Pizza Pockets

Here's another one of those recipes that makes me feel a little crazy. I mean, crisp, buttery puff pastry enveloping a pocket of pepperoni and melted cheese? There's really nothing healthy about that action, but I did it anyway. I had the dough, so why not? I knew these would be tasty, but I hadn't anticipated what a great sensory experience these would be. Dipped in the pizza sauce, these are quite salty--but a good salty. Flaky, crisp and buttery on the outside, but tender, melty and cheesy on the inside. Mmmm. I only ate two of these, my friend ate one, and my eating buddy Ezra ate the rest. Yes. He ate six of these and he didn't even get sick. 
The recipe below is for 9 pizza pockets, but it only uses a quarter of a puff pastry dough recipe. So, really, you could quadruple the filling part and make way more (and freeze the unbaked pizza pockets that you don't want to eat right away). You could probably even divide the dough into thirds and then try making 16 pockets from one third of the dough. I just wrote the recipe the way I did it because I know it is true and it's what you see in the pics. This is an amazing dough with so many possibilities. This savory application has to be one of my favorites so far.

Puff Pastry Pizza Pockets

Ingredients:

• 1/4 recipe of Puff Pastry (see recipe below)
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup Italian shredded cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup diced pepperoni
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix the cheeses, Italian seasoning, and the diced pepperoni. Set aside.

Roll the fourth of dough out into an approximate 12 x12 inch square. Trim the sides with a pizza cutter to "square it up" to approximately a 9 x 9 inch square. (Save and bake the scraps for snacking.) Cut the large square into nine three-inch squares. Brush two adjacent sides of each square with water. Place about 1/2 to 3/4 tablespoon of cheese/pepperoni filling into the center of the square. Fold over into a triangle and press edges to seal. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. When you've made all 9, take a fork and press fork around the sealed edges to ensure a seal. Then take a sharp knife and poke 2 vents in the top of each triangle. (At this point, you can either freeze turnovers on a wax paper lined sheet pan and then transfer to freezer bags so you can bake them up later a few at time.)
Bake at 400 degrees for 14-17 minutes. If you're going to bake the frozen turnovers, place as many as you want to bake, about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Allow them to sit at room temperature while you allow the oven to get to a nice 400 degrees Fahrenheit (I recommend at least a 30 minute preheat).
When turnovers are golden brown and puffed, remove from the oven. 
Serve hot with warmed pizza sauce.
Makes 9 small pizza pockets

Puff Pastry

   Ingredients:

• 4 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (1 pound) cold butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup ice water

Instructions:
In a large bowl, stir together the flour and the salt. Cut cold butter into half-inch slices and add to the flour mixture. Toss until butter pieces are coated with flour and separated from each other.
Stir egg and ice water together and then pour all at once into the flour/butter mixture. Using a spoon quickly mix until you see no obvious wet spots. Butter will still be in large pieces and "dough" will be in shaggy bits and there will still be lots of flour that's not mixed in yet.
Turn the dough out onto a large sheet of parchment paper (or a lightly floured pastry cloth if you have one). Knead the dough ten times or so by pressing and pushing dough together, using the parchment between your hands and the dough, to form a rough square shape. Using a little extra flour for the rolling pin, roll dough into a 15x10 inch rectangle. Fold 2 short sides to meet in the center. Bring the top edge down to meet the bottom edge to form 4 layers. You will now have a long rectangle about 7 1/2 by 5 inches.
Repeat rolling and folding process once more. Wrap dough in the parchment paper you're using, and then wrap that in plastic wrap. Chill dough for 20-30 minutes. Repeat rolling and folding process two more times, and then chill the dough another 20 minutes before forming the pizza pockets.
Once dough is chilled, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut dough into 4 equal pieces. Use dough within 24 hours.
Maybe try making some Dutch Letters, Mini Apple Turnovers, or Two-Bite Chocolate Croissants with the remaining dough. Or you can just make more puff pastry pizza pockets and freeze them.

Carol Rhodes' Crescent "Goodie" Rolls

Carol Rhodes' Crescent "Goodie" Rolls
So decadent and so fabulous.

These little "rolls" have to be one of my very favorite things to eat on this earth.  I'm not even exaggerating.  When you look at the ingredients, though, you'll see why I try to only make them once every year or two.  Fortunately (or not, depending on how you look at it) I have two little guys who will be my eating buddies for these.

Carol Rhodes happens to be one of my mother's very best friends, and a woman who was like an aunt to me as I grew up.  She always had a smile for me, and her laugh is still awesomely contagious.  I'm thankful for her, and for her recipe.

Carol's Crescent "Goodie" Rolls are buttery, flaky and slightly crisp on the outside and tender chewy and cheesy on the inside.  They're best eaten just after the point when they will burn the flesh in your mouth.  Don't get me wrong, I will eat them at room temperature as well.  I have NO problems with that.

Carol Rhodes’ Crescent “Goodie” Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 ½ cup cottage cheese
• 2 cups KAF Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp salt
• Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425°

In a medium bowl with a wooden spoon, mix butter and cottage cheese. 

Add flour and salt and mix until combined.  Divide into 6 balls. 

Dust ball with flour and place between two sheets of plastic wrap.  Roll into about a ¼ inch thick circle.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Cut circle into 8 wedges. 

Roll each wedge from the base to the tip and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.*

Bake at 425° for about 15 minutes.

*Unbaked rolls can be placed on a wax paper-lined baking sheet and frozen, placed in a zip-top freezer bag, and baked later.  They taste just as delicious as when they're made fresh.

Fried Zucchini (Gluten Free)

Gluten Free Fried Zucchini

Lately I've had a craving for fried zucchini. In California, Carl's Jr. sells these, and I usually get those instead of fries to go with my Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich. I live in Iowa now, though, so although we have a fast food restaurant with the same happy star logo, we do NOT have fast food fried zucchini. Sigh.
So, today, I decided to just make some myself. I'm attempting to go gluten free these days, so I made the bread crumbs with the Gluten Free French Sandwich Rolls I make weekly for my son. I also made sure to make fresh Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing because it's the best. I did not want to chance being dissatisfied with my fried zucchini. I was already unsure I could pull off something that would satisfy my craving.
Well, it all worked out beautifully, and I think I'm just calling this experiment "dinner" for tonight because I ate SO MANY. Ugh. So satisfying, though. They were crunchy, hot and tender on the inside, and with the ranch dressing...oh my goodness. Just what I was shooting for. Because of the seasoning and the frying, I can't even tell that these are gluten free. That doesn't make them any healthier, but I don't care about that today. Nope, today I have satisfied a craving that Hardees could not.
I looked up several fried zucchini recipes, but didn't follow one in particular, so I'm not putting in a "adapted from" line. Maybe I'm growing up. Or maybe I'm just too lazy to mention all of the websites/blogs I looked at today. At any rate, give thse a try. You will not be disappointed.

Fried Zucchini

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (2 medium) zucchinis
• 1/2 cup Better Batter Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups gluten free bread crumbs (2 Gluten Free French Sandwich Rolls made into crumbs in a food processor)
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup grated (powdery) Parmesan cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 inch canola oil in a high-rimmed frying pan
• salt to taste

Instructions:
Wash and trim the ends off the zucchinis. Cut zucchinis into 1/4- inch circles (I used a wavy cutter for this). Set aside.
Mix the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small shallow dish.
Beat the eggs and place in another small shallow dish.
Mix the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning Parmesan cheese, and pepper in a medium shallow dish.
Working with about three zucchini circles at a time, dredge circles in the salted flour and shake off excess flour.
Dip in the egg, and then place on the bread crumbs. Gently cover zucchini circles with crumbs and pat gently. Turn each circle over and do the same to ensure a nice coating. Place coated circles in a single layer on a clean cookie sheet.
Repeat with remaining zucchini circles.
Line a cooling rack with paper towels.
Heat oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a fork, carefully place zucchini circles in the oil, being careful to not crowd them. Fry until a nice medium golden brown color on both sides. Remove fried zucchini to paper towels to drain and cool. Continue frying the remaining zucchini.
Serve with fresh ranch dressing.
Makes about 4 servings

BWW Parmesan Garlic Sauce Copy Cat

Buffalo Wild Wings Parmesan Garlic Sauce Copy Cat

There are times, as a working mom, that I have to be gone in the evenings for meetings, parent-teacher conferences, and yes, the occasional social outing. Over the last couple of years, my husband and kids have gotten into the habit of eating at Buffalo Wild Wings on those nights I am not with them. They know it's not one of my favorite restaurants (the grease and sodium levels are off the charts), even though I will eat there with my family once in a blue moon. This Parmesan garlic sauce is one of the flavors that I really enjoy there, and so does my 11-year-old son. Today he asked me if I thought I could try making the sauce at home. The kid knows me well enough to know that I would immediately look up a recipe and try it. 
The first recipe that came up when I googled "buffalo wild wings parmesan garlic" was at Raininghotcoupons.com, and it tastes GREAT, in my opinion. Salty, creamy, garlicky, herby. Yum. My son says there's something slightly different from BWWs' sauce, but he can't quite put his finger on it. I don't eat enough BWW to know the difference.
I only had Tyson frozen chicken fries to try it out on today, and we did try it before the recommended sit in the fridge. So, later today when we go to SuperTarget, we're going to pick up some chicken wings to try it out on.
Update: Delicious success with the real chicken wings. Many thumbs up.

Buffalo Wild Wings Parmesan Garlic Sauce Copy Cat
   --adapted from Raininghotcoupons.com

Ingredients:

• 1 small head (6-7 medium cloves) garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (powdered/grated)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (or plain yogurt if you want it light in calories)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 
Trim the top of the garlic head about 1/8-1/4 inch, to expose the cloves. Place on a square of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Roast at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until fragrant and soft.
While garlic roasts, mix the following ingredients in a medium bowl: salt, black pepper, basil, marjoram, oregano, red pepper flakes, thyme, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, vinegar, and corn syrup. 
When garlic is done, remove from the oven, and carefully remove the roasted garlic nuggets from their skin and place them in the bowl with the other ingredients. With the back of a fork, smash the roasted garlic into the other ingredients to make a paste. Add the mayonnaise and whisk to combine.
Cover and refrigerate sauce for a few hours to overnight before serving (at least that's what Raining Hot Coupons recommends).
Makes about 3/4 cup 

Roasted garlic skin