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March is a month of buzzer-beaters, bracket-busters and basketball. College basketball. This year’s tournament has been filled with close, exciting games and my crowd does not want to miss a minute of the action. When your family and friends do not want to leave the TV to eat, you need easy-to-eat party recipes that don’t require forks and knives. But you still want to satisfy the sports fan’s desire for crunchy, salty, cheesy goodness. That’s why I serve bite-sized and hand-held dishes featuring one of our favorite snacks, Cheez-It crackers.
My kids have loved Cheez-It crackers for years. When combined with an apple or dried fruit, they make a great lunchbox treat or after-school snack. But it was only recently that I discovered Cheez-It Grooves, a thinner, crispier version of a Cheez-It. With their larger size and ridges, Cheez-It Grooves make a perfect base for bite-sized, pop-them-in-your-mouth hors d’oeuvres. They come in tasty flavors, including Zesty Cheddar Ranch, Original Cheddar, and Sharp White Cheddar, that pair with other snack foods.
For my tournament-watchers, I topped Sharp White Cheddar Cheez-It Grooves with a slice of — what else? – sharp cheddar and a dried apricot for an irresistible salty-sweet combination. Some sports fans prefer spicy snacks, so for them, I topped Cheez-It Grooves with a dollop of harissa, a North African sauce made with hot peppers, and a sprig of fresh rosemary. Aren’t these little bites beautiful? Elegant enough for a fancy cocktail party but easy enough for a casual get-together with friends.
But with the last few games coming up, all of which take place in the evening, I wanted to create a slightly more substantial game time snack, one that could be pressed into service as dinner if need be. I decided to use the Cheez-It Grooves as a mix-in for buttermilk biscuits. The crispy bits of Cheez-It add texture and flavor to the flaky biscuit, especially when combined with fragrant rosemary.
The biscuits are delicious on their own but can also be used to create an easy-to-hold sandwich stuffed with meat, cheese, eggs or whatever you like! I filled mine with smoked turkey, sharp cheddar cheese, spicy mustard and arugula.
Right now is a great time to stock up on all kinds of Cheez-It products because you can buy any three varieties for $8 at your local Target. Use Target’s Cartwheel app to save an additional 35% off of this sale price. And don’t forget to play Cheez-It’s Most Valuable Cheese Contest that is taking place through April. Vote on your favorite from among six popular Cheez-It flavors and play games for a chance to win $10,000. You can find Cheez-Its in the regular snack aisle or look for a special display in the front of your Target, like the one my kids found!
So enjoy all the different kinds of Cheez-It crackers when watching this weekend’s games. Get creative with your pairings. Try Cheez-It Grooves with your favorite dips or top them, as I did, with cheese, fruit or even cold cuts. And if you really want to use Cheez-Its in an unexpected way, give me Cheez-It and Rosemary Buttermilk Biscuits a try. Your sports fans will be blown away by this new spin on an old favorite.
- 2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 TB cold butter cut into pieces
- ¾ cup White Cheddar Cheez-It Grooves, broken into pieces
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 TB milk or cream (optional)
- Preheat oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add the butter and blend in to the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the Cheez-Its and rosemary and mix in.
- Pour the buttermilk over the butter-flour mixture and mix it in with a fork just until the dough comes together.
- Gently knead the dough against the sides of the bowl until dough forms a ball.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and pat or roll out until dough is ½ inch thick,
- Cut into biscuits using a biscuit cutter. You should get 5 to 6 biscuits.
- Gather scraps together and gently combine. Cut out additional biscuits if desired.
- Brush tops with milk or cream if desired.
- Place biscuits on the prepared sheet.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Wow! What a creative recipe! These Cheez-It biscuits sound like the perfect solution for evening games…and I suspect they just might need to make an appearance in our house. The flavor combination sounds amazing! #client