This page requires that scripting be enabled in your browser to function properly. If you need help enabling scripting, please vist our
technical FAQ page.

READY IN 1¼ hrs

Cheddar Cheese Nippers

Read Reviews (13)

"A crispy cheesy cracker that is very similar to the one that you grew up with -- but with a few additions (or not), they can be a wonderful appetizer. But watch out, they are addictive." — PJP

Ingredients Edit and Save

Watch video tips and tricks

How to Make Nacho Cheese Sauce

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

Easy Ham and Cheese Appetizer Sandwiches

Easy Cheese Ball II

Restaurant Style Mac and Cheese

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Parmesan Cheese Twists

Fig Brulee with Burrata Cheese

Fried Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Measuring All-Purpose Flour

Battle of the Butter: Salted vs. Unsalted

Types of Salt

Cooking with Cayenne Pepper

Original recipe makes 36 crackers Change Servings

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup butter at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or to taste

Check All Add to Shopping List

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the flour, Cheddar cheese, butter, salt, and cayenne pepper into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until well mixed, about 10 times. Scrape the mixture out onto a well-floured work surface, and gather the dough into a ball. Roll the dough out into a 1/8-inch thick layer. If dough is too sticky, refrigerate for about 15 minutes before rolling. Cut the dough into shapes with a biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or ravioli cutter. Gently lay the cut-out crackers onto the parchment paper.
Bake in the preheated oven just until the crackers start to turn golden brown at the edges, 11 to 13 minutes. Allow to cool on the sheet for about 10 minutes before removing to finish cooling on racks.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 30 mins
COOK 15 mins
READY IN 1 hr 15 mins

Footnotes

Cook's Note
Optional: instead of cayenne pepper, use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.

ADVERTISE WITH US

No matter how I tried to resist the pull to use a substitution, I simply could not wait another day to make these with a pack of gruyere I had in the fridge. The recipe sounds so easy and delicious, and so it is! The making was mess-free, I used the smallest cookie cutter I had, and transferred the crackers to the parchment with a butter knife to avoid breaking them. They turned out beautifully crispy and golden (the ones rolled thinnest were the best), and the backgound wiff of cayenne pepper complimented ever so delicately to the aroma and taste. Mmmm... Will make again. And again.

—Petrovna

See full review »

Most Helpful Critical Review

Dec 14, 2011

I cajunized this recipe because I was trying to recreate the ones I had as a kid. The original recipe was way too dry! I added about 1/2 a carton of Philladelphia Cooking Cream. I also added 1/2 tsp black pepper. I cut them thicker so they wouldn't be so crispy and would have more of a cookie consistency.

—klarason

See full review »

15 Ratings

Jan 23, 2012

Instead of white flour I used wheat- they don't look the best but I love whole wheat flour. Instead of 1.5 all purpose flour, I used 1c.+3TBSP of wheat flour. I doubled the cayenne pepper and they are delicious! I think next time I'll try using less butter to cut fat and calories. I also added a little milk because the dough was dry at first. A tip for rolling them- if you don't mind how they look, I placed the dough on the baking sheet (no parchment paper, just oil/non stick spray) and smashed it as flat as I could with my hands. Then I put plastic wrap on top of it and rolled it, to avoid having the dough stick to the roller. After it was flat, (remember it's already on the baking sheet) I cut them into little squares. I also dashed salt on them like real Cheese Nips. After they were baked and a little crispy, I retraced the lines with the knife and voila, little square cheese nips! Even though I changed the recipe a bit, they are delicious, and now with the added benefit of wheat flour!

—Holly

See full review »

Jul 20, 2011

This is one of those recipe you make, just to say you tried it. It is like making homemade ketchup or marshmallow fluff. Both are common and cheap grocery store shelf staples. I decided to make a 1/2 recipe to try it. They really did taste like Cheese Nips from the grocery store. The texture was a little harder like a homemade cracker but the taste was similar. I only had whipped dairy butter and low fat cheese, but they ended up working with no problem. My issue, I have with the recipe, is I made only 1/2 recipe but it still took 2 hours to make. It was really time consuming to roll just the one ball of dough out repeatedly to 1/8" thick and cut small crackers out of it. A regular cookie cutter, although quicker, would have been way too big. I broke the dough into 4 pieces to work with it and rolled it on a plastic cutting board. I didn't need the extra flour to roll it out. I ended up yielding about 1 1/2 cups of small crackers. They did taste better than expected, just a lot of work, but fun to try to make anyway.

—Blender Woman

See full review »

Jan 07, 2012

These are very good and easy to make. I did not want to mess with the cookie cutters and having them break so I shaped mine into 2 round logs and chilled in the fridge for about an hour. Then I sliced them into 1/4 inch rounds and baked. Who would have thought, cheese cookies. Next time I'm going to double the cayenne pepper.

—Linda Farrell

See full review »

Aug 26, 2012

This was a really good recipe. I used cheddar and parmesan and swiss and also added about a tablespoon of beer and then cracked black pepper instead of cayenne. The taste was very good. Im sure every body else knows this but I discovered that most cookie presses have an attachment for this sort of cracker/cookie. (surprise!) For me this ones a keeper. Ill definitely make them again.

—cook45

See full review »

Aug 06, 2011

Delicious but I agree they are time consuming. A good thing to make when you feel like baking but want something savory :)

—ihateskanks3

See full review »

Dec 20, 2011

Nana

—CHRIS12

See full review »

Rate This Recipe

Edit

Glad you liked it! Your friends will, too:

Did you tweak the recipe? Edit and save your own version of it!

Edit this recipe

More Recipes Like This See all

Cheddar Cheese Cake

Cheese and Chive Crisps

Cheddar Pecan Wafers

Herb Cheese Pretzels

Medium Cheddar Cheese Sauce (Live! Raw, and Vegan)

Cheddar Pennies

Cheddar Crackers

Grilled SPAM(R), Tomato, Cheddar Cheese, and Sweet Onion Sandwiches

Cheese Squares with Jelly

Easy Cheddar Cheese Potato Bake

ADVERTISE WITH US

Nutrition

Calories
134 kcal
7%

Carbohydrates
8.1 g
3%

Cholesterol
27 mg
9%

Fat
9.4 g
14%

Fiber
0.3 g
1%

Protein
4.3 g
9%

Sodium
179 mg
7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Cheddar Cheese Nippers

Serving Size: 1/18 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 18
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 134
Calories from Fat: 84

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 9.4g 14 %
Saturated Fat 5.9g 30 %
Cholesterol 27mg 9 %
Sodium 179mg 7 %
Potassium 25mg < 1 %
Total Carbohydrates 8.1g 3 %
Dietary Fiber 0.3g 1 %
Protein 4.3g 9 %
Sugars 0.1g
Vitamin A 6 %
Vitamin C < 1 %
Calcium 12 %
Iron 6 %
Thiamin 9 %
Niacin 11 %
Vitamin B6 < 1 %
Magnesium 2 %
Folate 12 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.