Gold star cheese crackers

Puffy cheese crackers in the shape of a star.

Give out some cheesy gold stars to your brightest minds with these fast and easy cheese crackers. You only need 5 simple ingredients and a star-shaped cookie cutter to whip up this tasty appetizer. (Tip: They're even more amazing with a dab of sweet jalapeño jelly.)

Yield: 3 dozen crackers (depending on the size of cookie cutter)

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Ingredients

1 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into cubes
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper, or less to taste
3 Tbsp. cold water
Small star-shaped cookie cutter

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Layer the first 5 ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  3. Add the water and pulse until the mixture forms a ball of dough.
  4. Remove the dough from the processor and pat into a circle onto plastic wrap. Wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
  5. Roll chilled dough onto a floured surface until ⅛ inch thick. Cut star shapes with the cookie cutter. Dip cutter in flour to prevent sticking, if necessary.
  6. Bake stars on parchment-paper-covered baking sheets 15 to 18 minutes or until crisp.
  7. Cool on wire racks.
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