Savory Homemade Ritz Crackers

Whenever I go to the market, I have to avoid the snacks aisle especially when I’m hungry. If I don’t, my cart will suddenly be full of cheese crackers, biscuits, and tortilla chips. Yup, I’m that person. This also explains why I don’t make crackers often because I will be snacking on the entire batch all day. But today I’m making an exception. The cravings were just too strong. Instead of making my usual cheddar cheese crackers, I decided to switch it up and bake savory homemade ritz crackers. These crackers are everything I want, buttery, savory, and flavorful!

Print Recipe

Savory Homemade Ritz Crackers

Yields about 50 crackers

Total Time2 hours hrs

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crackers

Servings: 8

Author: Cherry on My Sundae

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (148 grams)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons cold butter cut into small chunks (42 grams)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ⅓ cup ice cold water (83 ml)
• ¼ cup melted butter (57 grams)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
• 1 ½ teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons Italian herb seasoning
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Pulse flour, salt, baking powder, and butter in a food processor until combined or mix by hand using a pastry cutter. Add olive oil and water and mix until a dough forms. Shape into a round disc about 1-inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour or until firm.
• Lightly dust a clean work counter with flour and roll out dough until it's 1/16-inch thick. Cut out 2-inch round circles and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Reroll dough and repeat until all of the dough is used.
• Use the flat bottom of a toothpick to prick 5 dots in the center of each cracker. Bake crackers for 6 minutes. Flip crackers over and bake for another 2-3 minutes or until puffed and light golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
• Combine melted butter with Worcestershire, brown sugar, Italian herb seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Pour seasoning mix over crackers, tossing to thoroughly coat each cracker. Spread crackers on baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown, flipping them over halfway. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

I know it’s easier to just buy store-bought crackers but when you make them yourself, the ingredient list is cleaner. No preservatives, just basic ingredients, and seasonings. Plus, there’s just something so satisfying about making a batch of homemade ritz crackers.

To make the cracker dough all you need is flour, salt, baking powder, butter, olive oil, and water. Combine the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined. If you don’t have a food processor you can also use a pastry cutter or your hands.

Add the olive oil and ice-cold water and pulse until a rough dough forms. Make sure not to overmix the dough or the crackers can get tough. You want to mix just until combined. Remove the dough from the food processor and shape the dough into a round disc about 1 inch thick.

The dough will be fairly soft so we want to chill it in the fridge for at least one hour or overnight.

When the dough feels firm, remove it from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly dusted counter until it’s 1/16-inch thick. If you can go thinner, go thinner. The crackers will puff up in the oven so it’s best to roll the dough as thin as you can. If it’s too thick, they’ll taste more like biscuits than crackers.

To get that Ritz cracker look, use a scalloped biscuit cutter to cut 2-inch round circles. Place the crackers on a lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough. A bench scraper comes in handy for carefully lifting the crackers from the counter and laying them on the baking sheet.

If the dough starts to get too soft, pop it in the freezer to firm up.

To complete the Ritz cracker, use the bottom of a toothpick to poke 5 holes in the center. Then, bake the crackers at 425 degrees F for 6 minutes. Flip the crackers over and bake for another 2-3 minutes or until lightly golden brown. We’re going to bake the crackers for a second time, so we don’t want them to get too dark.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and make the savory buttery mix. Combine melted butter with Worcestershire, brown sugar, and all the spices. Then, pour the mixture over the cooled crackers. Gently toss to evenly coat every single Ritz cracker.

Spread them in an even layer and bake for a second time for 15-18 minutes or until beautifully browned, flipping them over halfway through.

Remove the savory homemade Ritz crackers from the oven and let them cool completely before devouring.

I’ll admit, homemade crackers never quite taste the same as store-bought ones. But that doesn’t mean these aren’t delicious! They’re wonderfully buttery just like Ritz crackers and the seasoned coating makes them extra tasty. Wish me luck trying to restrain myself from eating the entire lot.

For more savory snack inspiration check out these bacon scallion cheddar milk buns!