DIY Goldfish Crackers

Awww Goldfish.  You have helped me through many rough times my friend.  You have seen me through many temper tantrums and long car rides. You have made Dr. offices bearable and lunches more enjoyable. And even though you have spent many weeks lost in a car seats crevices, only to be found and consumed by little sticky fingers, you are still the snack that smiles back

Mother Nature has finally got her act together and brought winter to us.  It has been freezing outside and the kids are starting to get tired of their Christmas presents.  About two weeks ago we needed an activity so I decided to try homemade Goldfish with them

Homemade Goldfish Crackers
Ingredients:

• 8 ounces, Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, Cut Into Cubes
• 1 cup Flour
• ¾ teaspoons Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Cold Water

 Directions:

Pulse everything (except water) together in the food processor until the dough resembles coarse sand.
Pulse in water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Remove dough from the processor, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes.
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes. You can use a toothpick to make the eyes and smile if desired. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes, or until crispy. 

 My food processor is one of those cheap-o kind that come with a blender, so I wasn't sure how these would turn out, but it's always worth a try.

I threw the ingredients in the processor and turned it on. It only took a minute or so until everything was blended together and looked like sand. 

I poured the water in and in no time at all I had really thick grainy chunks. It reminded me of cheese curds.  I smashed it all together into a dough ball, put it in a Ziploc bag and stuck it in the fridge, only to be reminded that the fridge STILL needs to be cleaned out....... I'll do it tomorrow. 

 At this point the original poster pulled out homemade cookie cutters.  She cut up an aluminum can to make fish and pac-man shapes.  I had no desire to put so much effort into something that was going to be eaten in about 40 minutes so I just used regular cookie cutters.  Once the dough had chilled for 20 min I rolled out the dough (it was a bit crumbly and grainy, but it held together good enough) and handed the kids diamonds and stars. 

I had halved the recipe and we ended up with about 25 quarter sized crackers.

When I pulled them out of the oven I was surprised at how much the crackers had risen.  They almost doubled in size but it was all in height.

The Verdict: They didn't taste exactly like Goldfish but they were pretty close.  I like them better because they weren't as salty and they had a nice soft texture.

 The kids loved them and ate all of them that day.  I might of had a couple a few, ok fine, I ate about half of them.

I told a friend that we had made them and she mentioned that this isn't something she would ever do.  Why spend all that time making something when you can just buy it at the store? 

This of course got me thinking about how much time it took and if I was saving any money.

So I made another batch by myself using the full recipe, and this time I used my friends suggestion to use a pizza cutter to make little squares in the dough.

The total hands on time was 10 min.

The homemade crackers cost $4 for 13 oz.
The store brand cost $7 for 30 oz.

Ok, so this DIY isn't going to save you time or money, but the kids had a great time cutting the shapes and they tasted great.