Cheesy Football Crackers Food

BACON-COVERED CHEESY FOOTBALL

Steps:

• Beat first 4 ingredients with mixer until blended.
• Add onions and pepper; mix well. Refrigerate several hours.
• Form into football shape on serving plate; coat with bacon bits. Add pimento strips for the lacing. Serve with crackers.

KIDS CAN MAKE: HEALTHY CHEESY CRACKERS

Steps:

• Whisk together the egg white, vinegar and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl; set aside. Refrigerate the egg yolk in a small bowl, covered, until ready to use.
• Pulse the flour, salt, mustard, paprika and turmeric in a food processor to combine. Add the butter, Cheddar and Parmesan, and pulse until the butter is completely broken up. Pour in the egg white mixture, and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball. (It's OK if it's a little wet.)
• Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap, and pat it into a 1/2-inch-thick square. Wrap it up, and refrigerate to chill and firm up the dough, about 1 hour.
• Position 2 oven racks at the top and bottom thirds of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Roll the dough out on a large piece of parchment (to keep it from sticking to the counter) into a 10-inch square about 1/8 inch thick. (Dust the dough with flour if you find it too sticky.) Trim the edges to straighten the square, then cut it into 1-inch squares (a pizza cutter works great).
• Whisk 2 teaspoons water into the egg yolk. Brush the mixture over the tops of each cracker. Sprinkle each with the tiniest pinch of salt.
• Bake the crackers, 2 baking sheets at a time, until they are deep golden brown on the bottom, about 20 minutes, rotating the sheets about halfway through. Let the crackers cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Store the crackers at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze them for up to 1 week.

FOOTBALL CHEESEBALL WITH HERBED CRACKERS

Steps:

• Combine the cream cheese, Cheddar, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder and shallots in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until thoroughly blended. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large sheet of plastic wrap, cover with a second sheet of plastic wrap and form into a football shape. Wrap up in the plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• Combine the butter, rosemary and thyme in a small bowl and microwave until melted.
• Lay the crackers out on two baking sheets. Brush the tops with about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the herb butter. Bake until fragrant and a shade darker, about 10 minutes. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to eat. (The crackers can be made up to 2 days ahead.)
• Toss the walnuts with the remaining herb butter and arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Cool completely, then finely chop.
• Unwrap the cheese ball and cover completely with the walnuts. Transfer to a serving dish. Separate the string cheese into strands and arrange them to look like the laces on a football. Serve with the herbed crackers and crudites.

CHEESY FOOTBALL CRACKERS

Steps:

• Cut each cheese slice into football shape with sharp knife; place 1 cheese slice on each cracker. Place cheese trimmings in resealable plastic bag and store in refrigerator for snacking or another use.
• Cut peppers into small pieces. Arrange on top of cheese to resemble the laces and seams of a football.

CHEESE CRACKERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Combine flour, salt, and red pepper flakes in large bowl; add Cheddar cheese. Toss until cheese is coated. Pour in melted butter; stir until mixture is moist and crumbly. Add rice cereal and knead by hand until dough is well blended.
• Roll dough into small 1/2-inch balls; arrange on a baking sheet. Flatten each ball with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until light and crispy, about 30 minutes.

CHEF JOHN'S CHEESY CRACKERS

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly grease with vegetable oil.
• Place butter into a mixing bowl; add Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt. Mix together with the back of a spatula until thoroughly combined.
• Mix flour into cheese mixture with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle in cold water, 1 or 2 drops at a time, and mix with spatula until it comes together in a dough that holds its shape when squeezed.
• Transfer dough to a work surface and press into a thick, flattened disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Roll dough out on a floured work surface to about 1/8-inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut 1-inch wide strips from the dough. Cut strips crosswise into rectangles about 1 1/2-inches long. Use the back of a bamboo skewer to punch 5 small holes into each cracker. Arrange crackers onto prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crackers are browned and crisp, about 15 minutes. Let stand about 3 minutes for crackers to cool and release from the foil. Let cool completely before serving.

CHEESY CRACKERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Combine milk, cornstarch, and seasoning in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 1 minute, then remove from the heat.
• Add Cheddar cheese and mix until smooth. Sift flour into the mixture a bit at a time and mix until you have a dough ball you can roll out.
• Roll out the dough on a sheet of parchment paper until as thin as you can. Cut dough into strips with a pizza cutter, and then into squares. Slide crackers and parchment paper onto a cookie sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crispy, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.