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 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 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.
- I decided today to use the daisy disk with my cookie press. So, after assembling the bottom of the cookie press with the disk, I used a small ice cream scoop to add the dough to the cylinder.
- One important thing when making these crackers and spritz cookies is to use an unlined, ungreased 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.
Watch How I Made These Treats
For another delicious recipe using the cookie press, try my Melt-Away Butter Cookies.
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Recipe
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.
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.
These look delicious and so easy to make. I will make them this coming week and will let you know how they turned out.
Your ingredients say baking powder but your instructions say baking soda. Which is it?
Yikes – it’s baking powder. Thank you Barbara for pointing that out. I’ve made the correction in the recipe.
Chula
I made two batches of these today for an event this evening. One I made was with Manchego cheese the other with Chardonnay Bellavitano and a little dried thyme. This is a fantastic recipe, so easy, so savory delicious and so versatile by adding herbs or seasonings. This is going to be my go-to recipe for the holiday get-togethers this season. Thank you so much for sharing!
Excellent Jeanette. Your changes sound yummy!
Chula
These are, without a doubt, the best AND the easiest cheese straws (crackers) I have ever tasted or made. Thank you for so great a recipe. Every single instruction was exactly as you said and worked like a charm. It is on my desktop to make often.
So glad they turned out for you Valerie!
Chula
I was SO happy to find this recipe! My mom, long ago passed, always made these at Christmas and so did I. I somehow lost the recipe and found yours. It must have been the same because everyone agreed they were the same as ‘Grannie’s.
I’m so pleased that you found the recipe!
I made these and they were a hot mess. Have the same cookie press as you and they were sticky and would not stick to the parchment paper when I pressed them.
Tina,
I’m sorry that this didn’t work out for you. However, based on what you said, there is one definite issue here and a second potential issue.
First, you shouldn’t have used parchment paper – the dough when pressed won’t properly adhere to parchment paper. Rather, you should have pressed the crackers directly on an ungreased and unlined baking sheet.
Second, if your dough was sticky, it’s possible that you didn’t add enough flour. I always weigh my ingredients to achieve consistent results. Specifically, for this recipe and others, one cup of flour weighs 5 ounces. For the cheese, one cup of shredded cheese weighs 4 ounces.
Chula
Can these be made with pre-shredded packaged cheese?
I’ve never made them with pre-shredded packaged cheese, so don’t know for sure if that would work. Sorry.
Can the dough be made in advance and frozen or put in frig for a few days? If yes, then what are the next recommended steps? Thx so much. I am looking forward to making these for New Year’s.
I’ve never refrigerated or frozen the dough, so can’t say for sure that this would work. However, you can refrigerate and/or freeze cookie dough, so I suspect that it would work. If you’re going to use a cookie press, however, the dough would need to come to room temperature.
Yuk. My dough was sticky, too. I am going to try again because I really want to make these!
Mary Ann,
I’m sorry that your dough was sticky. It’s possible that you didn’t add enough flour. I always weigh my ingredients to achieve consistent results. Specifically, for this recipe and others, I use Julia Child’s rule of thumb that one cup of flour weighs 5 ounces. For the cheese, one cup of shredded cheese weighs 4 ounces.
Chula
My crackers turned out beautifully. I followed your recipe to a T, even measuring my flour and cheese. They are more light and crispy than I anticipated. I have hidden them from my husband in hopes that I still have a few left for tomorrow. Ha! They made perfect cheese leaves for fall and I will definitely make them again. Simply delightful!
Susan,
I’m so pleased that the cheese spritz crackers turned out for you. What a good idea to make them into leaves for the fall!
Chula
If I double the recipe, how much baking powder should I add. Certainly not double the amount…Thanks for your help.
Rebecca, I would double all of the ingredients for the Cheese Spritz Crackers.
Chula
Have not made these yet. My question is: Can I use shredded parmesan cheese and also fresh thyme? Please let me know. Thanks
Roslyn,
I’ve never made these crackers with Parmesan cheese so don’t know how they would turn out.
Chula
The hint about 5 oz of flour did not work for me. I weighed my 1 cup and it was only 3+ oz. So I added the difference. I think it cut down the taste of cheese and there is way to little cayenne pepper. They just did not taste like the ones I made with mom. Christmas pattern came out the best for me.
Ann,
This recipe consistently works perfectly for me and my taste. You should probably stay with the recipe that you made with your mom.
Chula
Oh my goodness, I followed your recipe exactly. Even weighed the cheese and flour. This recipe is amazing. I plan to take it to a gathering on Sunday. Thank you so much for sharing. I plan to call mine cheddar cheese blossoms…
Jennifer,
So glad the recipe worked for you. Excellent name – Cheddar Cheese Blossoms!
Chula
Feb 22 2023
I have made these several times, they are the best! They’re better than Cheese Nips in the store, I make them a little hotter sometimes. I double the recipe, I bought a Marcato biscuit press at Christmas. It is fantastic and I can use any disk I want. By the way, I’m a 71 year old male who loves to make bread and cook. I’m not gay, my father said I’d make some woman a lovely wife someday haha. Thanks for this recipe!
Hi Dean,
When I first decided to get a biscuit press, I almost bought the Marcato biscuit press but decided to get one that was less expensive. I now wish I had splurged and gotten the Marcato press!
By the way, I chuckled when I read your comment. Thanks for brightening my day!
Chula