Recipe Cheese Nips

      1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
      (plus 1/2 cup divided & reserved for kneading and rolling)
      1 teaspoon baking soda
      1/4 teaspoon baking powder
      1/2 cup Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Cheese Topping powder
      (or 2 packages dry cheese powder from 2 boxes Kraft macaroni & cheese)
      3 tablespoons shortening
      1/3 cup buttermilk
      1/2 teaspoon salt (for tops, optional)

   1. Sift together 1 cup flour, baking soda, baking powder and cheese
      powder in a large bowl.

   2. Cut in the shortening with a fork and knife with a crosswise motion
      until dough is broken down into rice-size pieces. Mixture will still
      be very dry.

   3. Stir in buttermilk with a fork until dough becomes very moist and
      sticky.

   4. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the reserved flour over the dough and
      work it in until it can be handled without sticking, then turn it out
      onto a floured board, being sure to keep 1/4 cup of the reserve flour
      for later. Knead the dough well for 60 to 90 seconds, and the flour is
      incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least
      one hour.

   5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a light coating of cooking spray
      on a baking sheet.

   6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and use the remaining reserve
      flour to dust a rolling surface. Roll about one-third of the dough
      to just under 1/16th of inch thick. Trim the edges square (a pizza
      cutter or wheel works great for this), then transfer the dough to a
      lightly greased baking sheet. Use the rolling pin to transfer the
      dough. Simply pick up one end of the dough onto a rolling pin, and roll
      the dough around the rolling pin. Reverse the process onto the baking
      sheet to transfer the dough.

   7. Use a pizza cutter to cut across and down the dough, creating 1-inch
      square pieces. Use the blunt end of a skewer or broken toothpick to
      poke a hole in the center of each piece.

   8. Sprinkle a very light coating of salt over the top of the crackers
      (crackers will already be quite salty) and bake for 8-10 minutes,
      mix the crackers around (so those on the edge don’t burn) and bake
      for another 3-5 minutes, or until some are just barely turning a
      light brown. Repeat the rolling and baking process with the remaining
      dough.

      Makes approximately 300 crackers."~"