Gluten Free Cheese Crackers with Mead

One of the easiest ways to control gluten intake through food is to make your own. Over the past year my friends and I have learned how to make gluten free beers and wines at home, and I've loved the experience. Despite missteps here and there, there's some satisfying about being able to craft something and share it with friends. This past month my roommate and I bottled a mead we were brewing. Mead is a type of wine made by fermenting honey. We added raspberries and oranges during the fermentation which is where the color comes from.

I figured that gluten free cheese crackers would be an amazing compliment to the mead, and a fun, contemporary take on wine and cheese. The key is to use a sharp cheese that you'd love to eat straight from the block. I like to add some seasonings to the cheese and flour to create a delicious and bold cracker. I use a pastry cutter to create the shapes, but you can use a knife to cut them if you don't have one. These crackers also don't expand, so you can place them fairly close together on the pan while baking them.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Bake Time 20 minutes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter room temperature
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 cup gluten free flour blend
1/4 tsp xantham gum
2 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp water

Steps
Preheat an oven to 375F.

In a medium bowl, blend the cheese and the butter together. In a small bowl, mix the salt, pepper, powder, paprika, flour, gum, and starch together. Mix the dry ingredients into the cheese until fairly well combined. Add the water, and continue to stir until a dough forms.

Lay a sheet of parchment paper over top a cutting board, and roll out the dough to about 1/16-1/8th an inch thick. Cut the dough into 1x1 inch squares, and poke holes in the centers with a toothpick. Transfer the dough to an ungreased baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.