Homemade Goldfish Crackers (she: Ilene)

Hi! I'm ilene from Come on, ilene! I like to say that I'm a web designer by day and a dreamer by night. I started my blog after my wedding as an outlet for all my creative energies and to document all the random projects I'm working on. I'm honored to be guest posting today! Check out Come on, ilene for more baking, sewing, woodworking, wedding and craft ideas! I hope you will find something that will inspire you!

I couldn’t do a series on favorite snacks without attempting to make goldfish crackers. If you work with kids like I have, you know that goldfish can work miracles. Nothing soothes tear-filled eyes, scrapes and bruises like a little colorful dixie cup full of goldfish crackers. It’s like the universal comfort food for toddlers. …and adults. Even as a grown woman, these cheesy, puffy, crunchy fish-shaped crackers are my “go-to” snack for long road trips. I just crave them!

I think I salivate for any snack with this much cheese! (I love cheese! Do I sound like Steve Urkel? My love for cheese might be the reason I will never fit into my wedding dress again!)

Ingredients (recipe adapted from here)
1 cup all-purpose flour(or whole wheat for healthier alternative)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper (optional, it gives it a spicey kick)
4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
3-4 tbsp water

Directions:
1. In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt and pepper together. Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add grated cheese a little at a time until the mixture again resembles coarse meal.

2. Pulse in 3 to 4 tablespoons of water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms into a ball (about 1 minute). Your dough will form and look like this:

3. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours. You want the butter to chill so that the crackers will bake nice and puffy.

4. Cover with wax paper and roll the dough out to 1/8″ thickness. The thinner you get the dough, the crispier the cracker will be. But don’t roll it out too thin or the crackers will not puff up.

5. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the little fishies. I used a homemade cookie that I made out of an aluminum sprite can. (here is my tutorial on how to make your own cookie cutter) If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you can also just cut simple square shapes using a pizza cutter or knife.

6. Use a toothpick to poke an eye and draw a mouth on each fish:

7. Bake at 350° F for 15-20 minutes or until crackers turn golden brown around the edges. They will start puffing up around the 10 minute mark. Watch carefully as the tails are thinner and may burn.

Look how cute they turned out!!

I had enough dough to fill about 3 trays full of crackers. For the last batch, I cut a bunch of the crackers in a flower shape (using the same cookie cutter as the base of the cupcake pops):

These will keep overnight in an airtight container but I noticed by day 2 & 3 they were starting to turn a little stale, so I would plan to eat them right away!! Great for young kids and adults alike!

 ~ Ilene  http://www.oneshetwoshe.com/2011/05/homemade-goldfish-crackers-she-ilene.html