Cheddar cheese.
Cheddar Cookies are small, pie-shaped pieces of baked dough that have a soft, creamy interior and a crumbly baked exterior. They look like regular crackers in almost every way, except that the cheddar cheese has been incorporated into the dough and baked inside the crackers until the cheese melts and cooks into the crumb. The added flavor of the cheese makes the cheddar crackers tougher and able to withstand ingredients not normally added to cookie dough, like chipotle peppers or onions. The finished cookies can be served alongside just about any meal that complements their rich, cheesy, and occasionally dense character.
Yellow or white cheddar cheese can be used to make tasty cheddar crackers.
The signature ingredient in basic cheddar crackers is the cheese itself. There are several types of cheddar cheese, some of which are not quite suitable for baking into crackers. Basic cheddar, which doesn’t age as much as some and usually has a slightly soft consistency with a tendency to form small crumbs, is a good choice because it melts into the batter and adds a nice cheesy flavor. These types of cheddar cheese generally come in mild and sharp varieties, with sharp being more flavorful to your liking.
More specialized forms of cheddar cheese can be used, but you can create cheddar cheese crackers that have large chunks of cheddar cheese in the crumb or in the hard areas where the cheese has dried and solidified again. Hard, aged cheddar cheeses often work this way when toasted. Extra sharp cheddar cheese can be used, but certain artisan types can be very difficult to use for baking and can separate if not finely chopped.
Cheddar cookies are usually formed with standard dough ingredients including flour, baking soda, baking powder, butter, and eggs. Some recipes use shortening instead of butter for a smoother texture, or replace some of the butter with buttermilk. Gluten-free cookies can be made with tapioca starch, rice flour, and xanthan gum.
Additional toppings can be added to the Cheddar Cheese Crackers to complement the flavor of the cheese. This can include finely chopped onions, fresh chives, garlic, and pepper. Chipotle peppers, bacon, or even other cheeses like Parmesan or Asiago can be worked into the dough to create a cookie with a strong flavor.
Most cheddar cheese crackers are baked in the oven until the end of baking, with a golden top and a moist, tender interior. They can also be used to cover other dishes, such as pancakes, in which the cookies can be baked directly on top of the food and form a crust. Ready-made crackers can be served as a side dish or opened and used as a roll to hold anything from meat or pepper to more cheese.