Home Made Cheez-It Crackers (w/ dairy & dairy free recipe)

I can't remember if I have mentioned in the past or not, but my youngest daughter, Nora, has food allergies.  Not just sensitivities but actual allergies.  The ones we know about so far are dairy, soy, egg, peanut, tree nut, sesame & chickpea.  As you can imagine, there is not much that the poor thing CAN eat and the things she is able to, well, quite frankly, are not very yummy.  The hardest part of all of this is that being just under 2, she doesn't really understand it all yet.  The sad look on her face when her brother is munching on a bowl of yummy snacks, is devastating. 

I stumbled upon a recipe for Copycat Cheez-It crackers and decided that I would transform the recipe into an allergy friendly cracker that my daughter can eat.

Okay so before you stop reading, if you would like the original real cheese version CLICK HERE

 

CLICK HERE TO PRINT RECIPE

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup of all-purpose flour

4 Tablespoons Earth's Balance, Soy Free Spread

8 ounces daiya "cheese" shreds, cheddar flavor

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

2 tablespoons cold water

 

Directions:

 

Add flour, "cheese", spread, salt, cayenne to food processor.  Pulse until it starts to look like crumbs.  While pulsing, add water,1 T at a time.

 

Remove dough from processor and mold into a ball.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

 

Preheat oven to 375.

 

On a floured surface, roll out dough.  It will be sticky so be careful.  Roll to about 1/8 inch thickness.  Using a pizza cutter cut strips lengthwise and then across to make small squares.

 

Line a cookie sheet with non stick foil, parchment or silpat.  Carefully transfer the squares to the cookie sheet.  Use a wooden skewer or toothpick to poke a hole in the center of each square.  If desired, sprinkle some coarse salt on top.

 

Bake 17 minutes.

 

Cool on baking sheet.  Store in airtight container for 4 days.