I need a little gift to take to dinner at friends tonight so I’ve been searching my beloved blogs to see what’s out there. I’ve been following Dara on Generation Y Foodie since Ann at Cooking Healthy for Me reviewed her self published cookbook. Dara generally cooks on the healthier side so when I saw this recipe originally posted by Ann, with a little twist, I knew I had to try it. What Dara did was change out the white flour for whole wheat and she added a bit of texture with some ground flax seeds! Brilliant, if you ask me. These little cheese nibbles are a family favourite now, thanks to Ann (my niece and nephew devoured an entire batch in 25 minutes last weekend!) and as I’m always looking to make things a bit healthier…I jumped on these.
They still have the same cheesy taste, but they have a bit of texture from the whole wheat and the flax, and they also have a touch of earthiness too. We gave it a good thumbs up. Thanks Dara for this lovely treat, I will be making it again and again.
Whole Wheat Cheez-Itz
Ingredients:
- 8oz sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated (I had to add a bit of mozzarella as I had run out of the cheddar)
- 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
- 2+ tbsp ice water
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425° F
- Add the cheese, flour, flax, sea salt and cayenne into a food processor. Process a couple of times to mix everything together.
- Add the olive oil at once as you are processing the mixture, adding in the ice water one table spoon at a time until the dough sticks together nicely.
- Refrigerate for 30+ minutes (but to be honest, I never have time for this, please see my tip below).
- Place a sheet of parchment below and on top of the ball and roll out to about 1/8″ (2mm) thickness.
- Cut using your favourite cookie cutter (mine is a 1″ (2.5cm) square with scalloped edge. It’s a perfect size because they do shrink in the oven.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until they have a golden bottom (this is the perfect crunch).
- Cool and enjoy.
Tip:
I store my grated cheese in a zip-lock bag in the freezer. I virtually never remember to defrost it in advance, but using the ice cold cheese in this recipe allows me to skip the step of chilling the dough. Time saved on both counts!
[…] also wanted to give a shout out to the lovely Eva from KitchenInspirations who not only made my whole wheat cheez-itz this week, but send along four lovely awards for me. I am always so flattered when someone makes […]
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I regularly buy little cheese crackers homemade at the local cheese shop.. now I can make my own and their healthy as well! I can eat a whole packet at one sitting, so I suspect if I eat the whole batch of these it’s not really being too healthy… but how could I resist!!?? This is just the kind of nibble I love!!
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I think the same way, Barbara…home made is always better anyway, less salt, no chemicals…but in moderation, which is the tough part. I only make them when we have people over and I’m too busy to eat any 😉
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Delicious, Eva! When I saw Dara’s version I knew it was a stroke of genius, too! I’m glad you tried them!
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These look awesome! I am so honored you made my recipe. I love these things, but they do go sooo quickly.
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I’d take these over some commercially made, mass-produced junk any day. I think cayenne pepper goes over so well in cheese/dough items – I love that little sting it brings 🙂
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Cheez itz are absolutely great but whole wheat cheez itz are soooo much better. I just love this recipe.
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Thanks for the tip, how can you say you are lazy when you come up with all those delicious ideas that you need to make and photograph and clean up afterwards, that’s a lot of work and I believe you have the same 24 hours in a day like the rest of us, cannot afford to waste any.
Love this healthier version.
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Thank you Norma. I’m a little down because I didn’t plan my blog posts this weekend and have no photos to post either. I appreciate your kind words and will give myself a little slap ;-).
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Never thought it could be done! Cheez Itz are my arch nemesis… so, thank you.
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Hi Barbara, they are very tasty, although I’ve never had the ‘real’ versions, I think I would prefer home made anyway!
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I need to try these. Katherine is laughing at me because my new guilty pleasure is Cheez-its. Weird I know.
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The actual cheez-its product? I’m laughing at you too! 🙂
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I know, I know. We usually don’t have anything like that in the house.
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Once you make these you will realize how easy it really is to make and you will likely be making them at least once a week. I need to buy stock in cheddar, fast!
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I can imagine how delighted they would be at receiving this gift! They look fantastic Eva 🙂
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Thank you kindly, Lorraine, they were indeed well received!
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so funny! I just made cheese crackers (whole wheat) over the weekend too! I love them but yours looks even better! I like the idea of using flaxseed!
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Hi Jessica, I love cheese crackers and would be thrilled to try another recipe. Hope to see your recipe soon!
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I love cayenne pepper in homemade cheddar biscuits and the flaxseed is lovely here too; Very nice remake Eva!
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Thanks Kelly, but Dara should take all the credit, I just spiced it up a bit!
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What a fun alternative to the regular Cheez-it. I’m sure that Liz would love this recipe.
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Hi Jed, I haven’t figured out the WW points, so if Liz ends up making them and can figure it out, I would love to update the post.
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So much better for you than all the packages crackers as well! And who doesn’t love Dara and Ann!?
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Thanks Jen and welcome to my blog. I’ll check out your blog now.
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What a great idea! I’m all about finding a healthier alternative. 🙂
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Thanks Caroline.
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I’ll eat anything Cheez-It. This looks like a fine, healthier variation.
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Thanks Sharyn, I’ll make them again this way, but likely not for the kids, unless I do a small portion of whole wheat and flax. The kids are a bit pickier!
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I made the original version over the holidays and they were a big hit. I’ll have to try these out, as it is always nice to try to go a little healthier where we can. Did your niece and nephew try this version or the original? Also, where do you buy your flax Eva…and do you grind it yourself?
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Hi Barb, JT buys the ground flax at our local bulk store but it’s prepackaged; he tosses the pack as soon as he pours it into our container. I’ll check for the brand when we buy it again.
No, for the kids I made the original. Next time I might do 1/4 WWF, 3/4 white flour and no flax. They can turn their noses up very easily!
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Do you have to freeze the ground flax seed to store it for longer periods of time or is the possibility of it going rancid not a problem?
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Hi Maraia, we have never had a problem with the flax going rancid, but then again we probably go through it quite quickly. You could always just buy whole flax and grind them yourself as required. I would imagine the likelihood of going rancid not ground is less than if you were to grind them.
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Clever tip on the cheese. I’m terrible at remembering to defrost things I’ll need, but how cool that it works out and chills the dough! So clever Eva. 🙂
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I must admit, Kristy, it wasn’t my idea! I was researching pastry recipes and someone had suggested to grate frozen butter into the pastry to help make it flaky…I just took it to the next step! Plus I’m lazy and can’t be bothered to wait the 30 minutes so it made sense from all perspectives!
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They look like very tasty niblets. 🙂
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Thank you kindly Maraia.
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These do look healthier than your previous cheez-its. Love the use of flax seed – I’m a big fan!
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The whole wheat and flax add a definitely earthy flavour and a nice bite to the texture, Bill. If you like whole wheat and flax, you will love this twist.
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So often, when I entertain, the little nibbles are enjoyed but I doubt if anyone even notices that they’re eating them, to be honest — and that’s more an indictment of the nibbles than my friends. When I serve these, though, people will definitely take notice. Thanks, Eva!
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That’s true, John; my niece saw them in the living room and yelled “cheese squares” and made a b-line for them. I couldn’t believe they gobbled them down so quickly (I doubt the adults even had one!); but then again, they hardly ate lunch. Oh well.
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What a beautiful looking presentation dish. These look like a great hostess gift. Very perfect looking and I’m sure they were delicious.
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Thank you Charlie, after 5 years of blogging, it’s getting more and more difficult to come up with new ways to present. They were quite delicious!
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