Homemade Ritz Crackers Recipe

Homemade Ritz crackers were a challenge.  Take a look:

Each column on this cutting board resulted from a slightly different recipe for homemade Ritz crackers (and the board doesn't show all of my trials).  Some homemade Ritz cracker attempts used only butter, some used only vegetable oil, and some used a combination.  Some were brushed with melted butter before baking, some after baking, and some partially through baking.  Some homemade Ritz crackers had salt sprinkled on top and some had salt mixed into the butter (some used kosher salt and some used regular table salt).  There were varieties with more baking powder and some with less.  You get the idea.

I came pretty close to getting the Ritz cracker right.  The real Ritz cracker is slightly more fluffy, but the taste of mine is spot on (though most tasters thought that it was slightly better).  Now you can enjoy Ritz crackers without high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils.  I say "you" because I don't want to see another Ritz cracker ever again - too much taste testing!!


Homemade Ritz Cracker Recipe

While this homemade Ritz cracker recipe is a Cupcake Project original, I used Jeffrey's recipe from What's 4 Dinner Solutions as a starting point. Huge thanks go out to him.

This recipe is made in a food processor.  If you cut the recipe in half, you can fit it in a mini food processor.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp + another 1/2 tsp salt for topping
• 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter + 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, and 1/2 tsp of salt in the food processor.
3. Pulse to combine.
4. Add cold butter a few small pats at a time, and pulse to combine.
5. Add vegetable oil.  Pulse to combine.
6. Add water a little bit at a time.  Pulse to combine after each addition.  The dough should start to form a ball.
7. Roll dough out as thin as you can.  Mine ended up being all different thicknesses.  Don't sweat it.  They are homemade!  If you are really concerned, Jeffrey had luck using a pasta maker to make the dough all one thickness - great idea! 
8. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough out.  You can make them Ritz-shaped or any shape that you like.

9. Poke holes in the dough in the Ritz pattern or any pattern you like (smiley faces would be fun!).  Keep in mind that the holes are not just decorative; they help the crackers to bake correctly - so be sure to poke some.

10. Bake the crackers on a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet for ten minutes or until the crackers just begin to brown.
11. While the crackers are baking, melt the remaining butter and mix in the remaining salt (Some people said that my crackers weren't salty enough.  Add more or less salt to your taste.)
12. As soon as you remove the crackers from the oven, brush them with the salty butter.

12. Cool and eat!

Cupcake Connection

I used these Ritz crackers to make a Ritz crust for cheesecake cupcakes.