Copycat Cheez-It Crackers

Preparation

1. Add the walnuts or pecans to a food processor and pulse briefly until they are finely ground. Avoid overprocessing into a puree. Remove the ground nuts to a bowl and set aside. 
2. Cream together the butter and cheddar in the food processor until they come together into a paste. Add the ground nuts, flour, salt, and paprika and pulse several times until a dough forms. Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. This will allow the dough to hydrate and the butter to cool again before rolling. 
3. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Lightly dust with flour and roll each portion between two sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of a quarter. Using a sharp knife or rolling cutter, score the dough vertically and horizontally to make a grid of 1-inch crackers. Then use a dowel or chopstick to make an indentation in the center of each cracker. Allow to rest for 30 minutes. 
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Transfer the crackers to the prepared baking sheets, leaving ½ inch between each cracker. Dust the tops of the crackers with kosher salt. 
5. Bake in batches for about 15 minutes each in a convection oven or about 20 minutes in a conventional oven, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. 
6. Allow the crackers to cool on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer to your favorite snack bowl and dig in! 
7. Note: This recipe works wonderfully with a blend of cheeses. Avoid using pre-shredded cheese, which often has added cornstarch—you want to grate it yourself from a block. 

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Excerpted from Retro Recipes. Copyright (c) 2026 by Bobby Hicks. Used with permission of the publisher, The Countryman Press, a division of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.