Butter Crackers

When you have a little extra time to spend, it's absolutely worthwhile to spend it "puttin' on the Ritz" and making these crackers at home, instead of purchasing them.  They're actually quite straightforward to make, tasty, and homemade means you know exactly what's in them.

• 1 C flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp cold butter
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/3 C water (or as needed)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 tsp salt for topping

1.  Preheat oven to 400F.  In a mini food processor, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Add cold butter a few small pats at a time, pulsing to combine.  Pour in oil and pulse to combine.  Add water about a half Tablespoon at a time, pulsing with each addition, until dough comes together forming a ball, scraping down sides if necessary.
2.  Roll dough very thinly and cut out with cookie cutter.  Poke 5-6 holes in each cracker with a skewer or the back of a toothpick.  Bake on a parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheet for 10 minutes, or until crackers are just beginning to brown.
3.  In the last minute of baking, combine melted butter and salt for topping.  When crackers are fully baked, brush each with melted salty butter and allow to cool.

Robyn's notes: I have never used all of the water, I generally use about half of what's called for, but I'm also baking at high altitude and often when it's pretty low humidity.  If the dough has come together, stop adding water. These make very tasty crackers, which I keep going back to. As I do with the bought version, I enjoy them plain, with cheese, and with peanut butter.  For the price of ingredients in my area, this is an item it's financially reasonable to make instead of buying.  It's also a good option for recipes that call for a crushed Ritz crust, avoiding buying a full box of crackers and having leftovers (since avoiding leftovers is one of my missions in life).  Watch me demonstrate this recipe on youtube!

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often