Southern Cheese Spritz Crackers are amazing little morsels full of cheesy, buttery crunch. These tasty treats are totally addictive and super easy to make. They're similar to Southern Cheese Straws but made with a food processor and a cookie press. One bite, and you'll be totally hooked.
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Here's What You'll Need
The stars of the show here are butter and cheese with flour and baking powder to hold the dough together. The flavorings are simple - salt and a bit of cayenne pepper. That's it!
Here's How To Make This Amazing Recipe
I've been making these fantastic crackers for as long as I can remember using a hand-held electric mixer to blend the ingredients. Then one day, I wondered if the food processor could be used to simplify things. Guess what? It worked like a charm!
- I started by adding the room temperature butter, shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, baking powder, salt, and cayenne pepper to the bowl of my food processor fitted with a steel blade (Photo 1). Then, I pulsed processed the mixture 8 to 10 times until everything was well incorporated (Photo 2).
- Next, I added the all purpose flour to the butter/cheese mixture (Photo 3). Then, I pulsed processed the ingredients 8 to 10 times until the mixture was crumbly. Finally, I processed the mixture for about 10 seconds until a nice dough formed (Photo 4).
I had the perfect dough for my Southern Cheese Spritz Crackers in less than a minute.
- Today, I decided to use the daisy disk with my cookie press. So, after assembling the bottom of the cookie press with the decorative disk, I used a small ice cream scoop to add the dough to the tube of the cookie press.
- One important thing when making these crackers and spritz cookies is to use an unlined, ungreased baking sheet. This means that you shouldn't use parchment paper on the baking sheet. The reason is that this is necessary for the dough to stick and form the crackers. The cooked crackers won't stick because of the amount of butter in the dough.
Therefore, I used a large, unlined, ungreased baking sheet to spritz the dough. The crackers don't rise much at all. Therefore, I placed them about an inch or two apart. I could fit 24 Southern Cheese Spritz Crackers on the baking sheet.
- I popped the crackers into a preheated 350°F oven for 16 to 17 minutes. After that time, they were lightly browned around the edges and perfectly cooked.
- I transferred the crackers from the baking sheet to a wire rack to allow them to cool completely.
I ended up with four dozen amazing Southern Cheese Spritz Crackers. Each bite was buttery and cheesy and melt in your mouth perfect. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don't have a food processor, you can mix the dough with an electric mixer. It'll take longer, but the crackers will be just as good.
My cookie press is the Oxo Good Grips Cookie Press. This particular time, I used the daisy disk, but I also used the sunflower, fleur-de-lis, wreath, shell, butterfly, snowflake, and bear. The only one that didn't work that well was the bear.
I used a small ice cream scoop to fill the cookie press cylinder with the dough.
If you don't have a cookie press, you can pipe the dough using a pastry bag fitted with a 1-M star tip to form the crackers.
If using a cookie press, don't be tempted to use a lined or greased baking sheet. The reason is that the cookies won't adhere to the baking sheet unless it's unlined and ungreased.
You can easily double this recipe. These tasty morsels disappear so quickly that you'll be glad if you do double the recipe. If by chance, you do have any crackers left over, store them in an airtight container.
For another delicious recipe using the cookie press, try my Melt-Away Butter Cookies.
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Southern Cheese Spritz Crackers
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Cookie Press
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick, 4-ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (4-ounces) shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup (5-ounces) all-purpose flour (See Tip 1)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place butter, cheese, baking powder, salt, and cayenne pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse 8 to 10 times, or until ingredients are fully incorporated. (See Tip 2)
- Add flour; pulse 8 to 10 times until flour is fully incorporated (the mixture will be crumbly at this point). Process for 10 seconds or until a dough forms.
- Fill the tube of cookie press fitted with a decorative disk with dough. (See Tips 3, 4, and 5)
- Spritz dough onto an unlined and ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 16 to 17 minutes, or until the edges of the crackers are lightly browned.
- Remove from oven; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container.
- Yield: 48 crackers.
Video
Tips/Notes
- It's important to weigh the flour to ensure the proper consistency of the dough. I use Julia Child's rule of thumb that 1 cup of flour weighs 5 ounces.
- If you don't have a food processor, you can mix the dough with an electric mixer.
- My cookie press is the Oxo Good Grips Cookie Press.
- I used a small ice cream scoop to fill the cylinder of the cookie press with the dough.
- If you don't have a cookie press, you can use a pastry bag fitted with a 1-M star tip to form the crackers.
Dottie Lore says
Can this be made with gluten free flour without changing the recipe? Thanks
Chula King says
Dottie,
I'm sorry but I've not tried this with gluten free flour, so don't know whether it would work or not.
Chula
Anonymous says
OMG! Perfect, perfect, perfect! Nothing like southern recipes y'all. I love making spritz cookies but this is absolutely wonderful!
Needed something to take for Christmas Eve along with wine and this does it! Thank you so much.
Constance says
Delicious and easy! I did not weigh the flour, just measured one level cup. Did not weigh the cheese either, just cut the 8oz cheese block in half. I find that for some designs my cookie press does not press the dough out easily. Also, if there is not enough dough in the press, it does not press out the dough properly.