Gluten-Free Goldfish and Cheez-It Crackers

I have been preparing my kids for almost 3 weeks by letting them know that school is starting soon and the late nights are coming to an end. I don’t know about you, but here at my house we all love to stay up late talking, watching movies, listening to podcasts (yep! we do), playing with our gadgets, and of course snacking at midnight.

 After all, summer is such a great time to go off schedule a little bit, to be spontaneous, and a little more adventurous. It’s okay to throw unplanned parties, receive last-minute guests for the weekend even when you aren’t sure when they are leaving, have dinners at 7:00pm because the sun is still shining so brightly you actually thought it was two in the afternoon, and too many trips to the frozen yogurt place.

Now that most kids have already started school, lots of lunchboxes will have to be prepared everyday. A well planned lunchbox equals a less chaotic school year. If you haven’t read the article that  Missy from HDS posted a few days ago, I highly recommend that you do here. There you will find great tips and ideas on how to be better prepared and organized to have a great and successful school year.

 Today, I am going to show you how to prepare a classic snack that will be part of many families lunchbox this year. It is a modified recipe to accommodate those that are gluten intolerant.

 What will you need to make your own cookie cutter

  ruler

 pair of scissors

 pencil

 empty soda can

tape

pastry wheel

You probably have all these items laying around at home and this project will take you less than 15 minutes to complete.

Below you can see what my 12 year old son and his friend did it for me. We made a total of 6 cookie cutters but a few snapped off because we bent them too much. Start forming the shape gently and after you are all satisfy with the shape, tape the cookie cutter with some clear tape.

 I have noticed that more and more families are going gluten-free these days for medical or personal reasons. Making your own snacks at home are always a good idea because you are in control of what you can or can’t eat. Gluten-free flours are now so easy to find and you don’t necessarily have to mix your own anymore. For this particular recipe, I used Cup 4 Cup gluten-free flour developed by chef Lena Kwak.

Two different crackers but one recipe? That is what I call a time saver recipe! If you have a toddler at home that absolutely loves these little fishies, go ahead and make the goldfish shaped crackers. If your teen feels too cool to show up with some goldies, no problemo here– they are gonna look even cooler when they show off these homemade Cheez-it crackers made it with real stuff.

 Recipe for Goldfish Cheddar Crackers and Cheez-it Cheddar Crackers

1 cup gluten-free flour (I used Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour)

3 cups of extra-sharp cheddar cheese

3 tbsp good quality parmesan cheese

4 tbsp unsalted cold butter

3 tbsp cold milk

½ tsp salt

To make the dough, start by adding the gluten-free flour, extra sharp cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, and salt  in the food processor. Pulse until well formed crumbs appear. Add the unsalted cold butter and pulse again until coarse crumbs forms. Add the cold milk and pulse again. Remove the dough from the food processor. On a flat surface start to form dough with your hands and divide into two portions. Wrap them in plastic film and let them chill for 3o minutes or more.

Let the fun begin! Roll the dough on a floured surface, start cutting out  tiny fish shapes, and transfer them to a baking sheet. To make a happy fish, draw a little smile on the dough.

 With the oven pre-heated to 350 F degrees bake them for about 10 to 13 minutes. You want them crispy, crunchy, and gold.

After you remove them from the oven, let them cool down completely and enjoy!

Who said kids shouldn’t play with their food! Use these little crackers to help your toddler develop great math skills. the reward… they can eat them after all their hard work.

  Using only one portion of the dough, I baked appropriately 120 tiny fish crackers and I promise you they will be gone fast.

Using the other portion of the dough, cut straight lines on your rolled dough using a fluted pastry wheel. I used a ruler to guide me and a pastry tip to poke the dots in the middle of the dough.

 The homemade Cheez-it crackers will require to be baked approximately 13 to 15 minutes in the oven.

  Now you have two delicious homemade cheese crackers, using only one recipe, and the guarantee to satisfy all ages.

I was able to make approximately 60 small homemade Cheez-it crackers.

Did you have a favorite school snack when you were a kid? I hope this recipe inspired you to make your children’s school year enjoyable and make learning fun.

Have a nice day!