Homemade Kids Crackers

I am so excited because tomorrow I am leaving to visit one of my best friends.  I'm driving over 600 miles, with 3 kids, all by myself.  This is going to be an adventure!  It will be so worth it though.  I haven't seen this friend for about 4 years.  Crazy!  I am leaving super bright (well dark really) and early to hit the road and hoping for a smooth trip. 
Of course you cannot have a successful road trip without a huge stash of snacks.  I've been wanting to try homemade versions of some of my kids (and mine too!) favorite snack foods.  This way I feel a little less guilty for what we will all ingest over the 2 days in the car.  I made Homemade Cheez-its and Homemade Vanilla Wafers.  They both turned out so easy and so delicious!  Just another reason to be excited to hit the road...  we get to eat all these goodies!

Mini Vanilla Wafer Cookies

Ready to pipe onto my baking stone

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

So cute, aren't they?

Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
Sift flour, salt and baking powder over the butter mixture and stir to combine. Scrap dough into a pastry bag fitted with a plain piping tip.  (Or I used a zip-lock bag and snipped off the tip of a corner
Pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, making each cookie the size of a large chocolate chip.  (I made mine a little bit bigger, they just needed to bake a little longer) Cookies will spread, but only a little space is needed between cookies.
Bake at 325 F for 10 to 15 minutes, until cookies are a light golden brown. Baking time will vary depending on the exact size of your cookies. Mine were a bit tall, but slightly smaller than a dime. They spread slightly to about dime-size.
Cool on baking sheets.
Store in an airtight container.

It's kinda crazy to add cayenne to a kids snack, but it works!

 

Homemade Cheez-It Crackers

**I didn't need to chill mine, I think if you add less water you can skip this step

• 1 cup flour
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small squares
• 1 (8-ounce) bag grated extra-sharp 2% Cheddar cheese (preferably orange)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

So easy using the food processor



Before baking...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in food processor, and pulse until crumbly. Add cold water, a tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together. (I used about 2 1/2 T of water) Form into ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Place dough between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper, and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet, and, using pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into 1 inch squares. Sprinkle with kosher salt and bake for 25 minutes. Test for crispiness; crackers may take a few minutes more to finish crisping. Remove from oven when crisp and just starting to brown. Let cool and serve


...After baking

Sooo good!!!