Crazy Good Crackers (from scratch!)

So it's times like these I wish I had a ranking system for some of my blogs.  If I had developed a star rating system for all of these posts, I would easily give these all five.  As far as I am concerned, they put the crack back in crackers. 

Ingredients:
-1/2 Stick butter (salted, for the record that's the only thing I ever use)
-1 C AP flour
-1 ounce of reduced fat cream cheese
-1 tsp salt
-Cold water (I get it in a 1/4 cup measuring cup and add slowly, I used maybe half of the measuring cup or a little less)

Throw the butter, flour, cream cheese, and salt in a mixer bowl.  Beat until it is all combined, I mostly did this on a medium speed.  It will be a pebbly-looking dough.  Add in some water, a little at a time (think tablespoons) until the dough comes together and starts to hold.  You might have to press it into a ball depending on the paddle you are using, which is perfectly fine. 

Pat it into a disk and turn it out on a floured surface.  Roll it out pretty thin (1/8 inch or so) and cut into squares with a pizza cutter.  You can use a fancy fluted cutter or cookie cutter if you want perfect ones or different shapes.  My little cutter I like to use with the fluted edges is apparently avoiding me, so I opted for a pizza cutter instead.

Lay them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 17 minutes at 375 (time for me is based on a gas oven and a dark sheet).  I poked holes in mine with a fork before baking.  Basically, bake them until they start turning golden.  Pull the pan out and sprinkle a little salt on top (or not if you are anti-salt, I happen to love it).  I just left mine on the pan to cool, I was really hungry by the time they finished baking.

I made them to go with some chili I was whipping up, and they really hit the spot.  Look for my chili recipe tomorrow!  I would have blogged on it tonight, but chili is a lot better the second day and I can't tell if the heat level is right on just yet.

To give you an idea of what these crackers taste like, imagine a super buttery biscuit flavor, but a cracker texture.  I am a BIG fan of saltine crackers, and I like these just as well.  They might have worked with a little more butter instead of the cream cheese, but I like the flavor so much I would not change it.

Getting to try a cracker fresh out of the oven while it is still warm is an experience I HIGHLY recommend.

Happy crafting!