DIY Wednesday: Homemade Goldfish Crackers by Guest Blogger Melissa Phillips

Today for DIY Wednesday I thought I'd switch things up and bring in a guest blogger! Today's post is by my beautiful sister in law, Melissa.  Melissa is married to my older brother Shane and they have an adorable 16 month old little girl named, Ella, and another baby on the way that is due in July.  Melissa is a great wife and mom and she is always cooking the most wonderful recipes, eating at their house is a treat for sure. :) Melissa is going to share on how to make your own homemade goldfish crackers for your little ones (or for yourself if you enjoy eating them too), take it away Melissa!

(this is a snapshot of me and my sweet little family taken by Gabrielle)

Hi Readers!! My name is Melissa and as Gabrielle said I am married to her brother Shane and I am the mommy to a delightful, energetic 16 month old named Ella.  Shane and I are expecting baby # 2 in July and we are so excited about growing our family.  I love being a mom and a wife and I am always looking for ways to save my family money and feed them healthful things at the same time.  Ella LOVES Annie's Cheddar Bunnies and of course Goldfish, but I have found that we go through those boxes of crackers very quickly since she loves to snack on them, at $3-$4 a box that can add up quickly so I decided to try to make my own.  I found this recipe on how to make goldfish crackers and modified it to fit my taste. I hope you and your little ones enjoy it!

What You Will Need:
8 oz. shredded super sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup of flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2-4 tablespoons of cold water (I ended up using 4 tbsp. for the crackers I made)
4 tablespoons of cold butter cut into cubes.

Step 1.) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

Step 2.) Blend cheese, flour, butter, and salt in your food processor.

Step 3.) Slowly pulse in your cold water to mixture 1 tablespoon at a time.  You may have to add more than 2 tablespoons of water.  Just keep checking the consistency until all of the flour is mixed well.  (I ended up using 4 tablespoons of water.)

Step 4.) Form your dough into a ball and cover it into plastic wrap.  Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Step 5.) Roll out your dough onto a piece of aluminum foil.  The thinner you roll your dough the crispier the cracker.

Step 6.) Use your cookie cutter of choice to cut the crackers.  Place on your cookie sheet in columns.

Step 7.) Bake crackers at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until crispy.  (I baked mine just a touch longer than 15 minutes to get them to a level of crispiness I liked).

Step 8.) Reserve dough scraps to form another ball.  You may have to put the dough back into the refrigerator to harden before cutting more crackers.

Step 9.) Repeat process until you have used up all your dough.

Step 10.) Place crackers into an airtight container to keep them fresh.  (I used an aluminum can with a plastic lid that I had lying around the house.)

Recipe yields 7 dozen crackers.

(Ella enjoying her crackers :)