This easy 4-ingredient recipe for pimiento cheese crackers makes a great appetizer for a crowd!
I'm in full swing with the fall season.
I've been sharing all the festive things:
- Apples - Sautéed chicken and apples and fruity homemade applesauce
- Pumpkins - Pumpkin baked oatmeal with chocolate chips (and many more pumpkin things to come); and even
- Halloween - my silly string cheese spider snacks.
And what else is it? Football season!
I've already been to my first game - can't beat an afternoon at the stadium!
I love me some game day eats at home, like my cheesy baked black bean dip, veggie-loaded pizza dip and easy vegetable squares.
And today, I am representing my hometown Carolina Panthers team with a Southern favorite recipe.
I wasn't initially quite sure what I would make, just that it would involve pimiento cheese.
Cause that's just perfectly Southern and great for snacking.
And finally I landed on these homemade cheese crackers.
They're just 4 ingredients — pimiento cheese, butter, flour and salt — they can be made ahead and they are unbelievably delicious.
They have a crunchy outside and a buttery soft, smooth texture inside. They kinda melt in your mouth.
They work as a stand-alone for snacking but I highly recommend you serve them with some extra pimiento cheese.
Because putting pimiento cheese on your pimiento cheese crackers is crazy satisfying.
If you’ve got some cooked, crumbled bacon laying around, you could take these over the top. It's game day after all!
Ingredient Notes:
- Pimiento cheese: You can use homemade pimiento cheese (I included a basic recipe below) or pick some up from the store, which I’ve been known to do from time to time. Cause I live in the South.
- Flour: I used white whole wheat flour, cause that’s just how I roll, but all purpose flour would be fine, too. A gluten-free all-purpose flour mix should work as well.
- Slices: Don’t slice the crackers too thin. They spread out just a tad while baking and the thin ones will be too crumbly. I had some that were ¼-inch thick and they didn’t hold up well. They should be about ⅓ inch thick to cook through and hold together.
- Let the cheese crackers cool completely on the pan before you remove them or try to serve them. This helps them set up and stay together.
- Chilled: Be sure to slice and bake these straight from the fridge. Don’t let your cheese loaf sit out too long — you want the butter to be nice and cold still when the crackers go in the oven.
- Bake time: Mine take 20 minutes, but check them after 18. They’re ready when they’re light brown around the edges.
Tip: If your oven doesn’t cook evenly from side to side or front to back, you can rotate your pan halfway through the cooking time so these all turn out.
Also, if you are hosting a crowd, you should maybe double or triple the recipe. They will go fast!
Get a taste of the South, a taste of the Carolinas, with this easy recipe.
Snacking never looked so good.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Easy Pimiento Cheese Crackers
This easy 4-ingredient recipe for pimiento cheese crackers makes a great appetizer for a crowd!
Ingredients
- ½ cup pimiento cheese (homemade or store-bought)
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
- 1 cup flour (see notes)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Extra pimiento cheese for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together softened butter and pimiento cheese until well combined.
- Add flour and salt and stir to combine.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Form a long (about 1 ½ inches in diameter) then roll the log in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour, until hardened.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Remove the cheese log from the fridge, unwrap and slice into ⅓-inch wide crackers. Place crackers on an ungreased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes, until light brown around the edges.
- Remove and let cool completely on the baking sheet before transferring. (This helps the crackers set up so they don’t crumble.)
Notes
Flour: I use white whole wheat flour but all-purpose flour would be fine. An all-purpose gluten-free mix should work as well.
Be sure to slice and bake these straight from the fridge. Don’t let your cheese loaf sit out too long — you want the butter to be nice and cold still when the crackers go in the oven.
Don’t slice the crackers too thin. They spread out just a tad while baking and the thin ones will be too crumbly. I had some that were ¼-inch thick and they didn’t hold up well. They should be about ⅓ inch thick to cook through and hold together.
Tip: If your oven doesn’t cook evenly from side to side or front to back, you can rotate your pan halfway through the cooking time so these all turn out.
You can double or triple the recipe for a crowd - they will go fast!
Want to make your own pimiento cheese? Here's a basic recipe:
Homemade Pimiento Cheese:
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ cup mayonnaise
1 (4 oz.) jar diced pimientos, drained
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until smooth. Refrigerate for at least two hours to let it firm up.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
15Serving Size:
1 crackerAmount Per Serving: Calories: 128Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 125mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g
[email protected] a Dash of Cinnamon
Woah I've never tried to make crackers before but the way that you did it was really neat! I like the log and cut idea.
Kathryn
Makes it SO easy! Hope you give it a try!
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen
One of my closest friends is from the South and my husband ALWAYS requests her "pimento cheese" I think they will both die when they see the tasty dip made into crackers 🙂
Kathryn
Yay! Bet they'll love these -- put the cheese IN the crackers, then put the cheese ON the crackers 😉
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
So your the blogger who took the Panthers team huh? I'm sure Rach is going to give you a hard time! lol! <3 Anyways, I am obsessed with pimento cheese so I am seriously smitten over these crackers!! Pimento cheese IN crackers?!!! Holy deliciousness!! These seriously take the cake as far as homemade crackers are concerned, girlfriend! Fabulous football eats up in here, and such a great idea for the Panthers! I'm totally doing these topped with bacon and a generous smear of pimento cheese! Gimme gimmmmeee!! Pinned! Cheers!
Kathryn
You know I want you to LOAD up the toppings 😉 And yes, of course I'm here for my hometown team!! Been with them since the beginning! 😉 XO
Christa Hale
How do you store these? Airtight container at room temp? For how long? Trying to figure out how far ahead I can make! 😀
Kathryn Doherty
Yes, you can store these crackers, once cooled, in an airtight container at room temperature. They'll last 5-7 days, but I think they're at their best in the first 2-3 days. Hope that helps!