Homemade Ritz Crackers

One reason I love to bake is so that I know what is going into my food which then goes into my body. Remember that old saying "you are what you eat"? Well it has a point...the nasty trans fat, preservatives, and chemicals that make food-stuff keep on the shelves so long, what makes it so yummy and also not good for you seeps into your cells and messes you up.

While baking you are aware of just how much butter (but you're using REAL butter) is going into that cookie, cracker, or muffin recipe. So, whenever possible I try to make my own...even crackers. I halved the recipe so that it would fit in my mini food processor and it worked perfectly. I followed ingredients to a "T". The only thing I changed...the shape of the cracker--I only had a heart cookie-cutter so I made heart crackers. But my notes are below:

*Do try to make the dough as thin as possible like the recipe suggests, otherwise (like I did) you'll make digestive biscuits...a bit thicker but still tum-yum-a-licious! Oh and, enjoy with some full-fat cheese 'cause it contains the protein casein which is a muscle building nutrient! Recipe after the jump...

Recipe from: TheCupCakeProject 
This recipe is made in a food processor.  If you cut the recipe in half, you can fit it in a mini food processor.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp + another 1/2 tsp salt for topping
• 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter + 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, and 1/2 tsp of salt in the food processor.
3. Pulse to combine.
4. Add cold butter a few small pats at a time, and pulse to combine.
5. Add vegetable oil.  Pulse to combine.
6. Add water a little bit at a time.  Pulse to combine after each addition.  The dough should start to form a ball.
7. Roll dough out as thin as you can.  Mine ended up being all different thicknesses.  Don't sweat it.  They are homemade!  If you are really concerned, Jeffrey had luck using a pasta maker to make the dough all one thickness - great idea! 
8. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough out.  You can make them Ritz-shaped or any shape that you like.
9. Poke holes in the dough in the Ritz pattern or any pattern you like (smiley faces would be fun!).  Keep in mind that the holes are not just decorative; they help the crackers to bake correctly - so be sure to poke some.
10. Bake the crackers on a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet for ten minutes or until the crackers just begin to brown.
11. While the crackers are baking, melt the remaining butter and mix in the remaining salt (Some people said that my crackers weren't salty enough.  Add more or less salt to your taste.)
12. As soon as you remove the crackers from the oven, brush them with the salty butter. Let cool & eat!