Ritz Crackers From Scratch
Originally posted December 2015 and reposted May 2020.
Who doesn’t love these classic buttery, crunchy, salty crackers? Making your own homemade Ritz Crackers from scratch is a lot simpler than you might think and are super fun to make!
You know that iconic red box with the brown sleeves of buttery, crunchy crackers? Of course you do! So let me introduce you to one of our favorite crackers to make with our homemade Ritz cracker recipe! These Ritz Crackers From Scratch are surprisingly easy to make and have everything you love from the classic. They’re crunchy. They’re buttery. And they are the perfect vessel for any of your favorite Ritz cracker recipes – or to just snack on their own!
Recipe Video
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Ingredients Needed
And the best part? I’m pretty sure you’ll have all of the ingredients you’ll need already in your pantry!
- Flour – All-purpose flour is best for this recipe.
- Sugar – White granulated is what works best.
- Butter – You can use either salted or unsalted butter for this recipe. We use salted butter, but see the recipe notes for using unsalted.
- Vegetable Oil -If you don’t have vegetable oil, another neutral-flavored oil like canola will work, too.
- Baking Powder – Just enough for a little leavening.
Equipment Needed
- Food Processor – This is what will ensure that everything is well combined but not over-mixed. By not over mixing, you keep the crackers nice and flaky. You could use a stand mixer, but you risk overmixing the dough. This is the one we love!
- Rolling Pin – Or anything else to roll the dough with. A rolling pin is easiest, but you can also grab a wine bottle too!
- Cutter – This is the one that we love because it has the scalloped-edged to give it that Ritz Cracker look! (It can also be used for ravioli!)
- Brush – To be able to brush with the egg wash. A good pastry brush is key in the kitchen – we love these!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Pulse the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a food processor.
- Add butter a little at a time and then add oil and water.
- On a floured surface roll out the dough as thin as you can (would like!)
- Cut out crackers
- Poke holes in cutouts to give that classic Ritz appearance and also help them bake evenly.
- Brush with egg wash.
- Bake crackers on parchment paper and then brush with butter right out of the oven.
Let them cool and you have a delightful, buttery, flaky copycat Ritz Cracker From Scratch!
Our Other Cracker Recipes
Copycat Chicken in a Biskit Crackers
Sourdough Sesame Rye Crackers From Scratch
FAQs
You can also use a stand mixer, but the food processor helps it from not being over-mixed. If the dough’s over-mixed, then the crackers won’t be as flaky. I haven’t tried this without either.
You can, but you just need to be extra careful that you slice it super thin. It will save you some time, but I personally think rolling them out is really the best way to make sure they get nice and thin.
Be sure to spoon and level out the flour and then add the 2/3 cup of water a little at a time. You may not need all of it, just add it slowly until a ball begins to form.
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
If you want to see more, be sure to sign up for my 5 Easy Ways to Start Cooking From Scratch!
Ritz Crackers From Scratch
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 255 g
- 3 tsp baking powder 14 g
- 1 tbsp sugar 14 g
- 1 tsp kosher salt divided
- 8 tbsp cold butter, divided
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 oz
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 egg – beaten optional for egg wash
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Add flour, baking powder, sugar, and 1/2 tsp of salt to the food processor and give a quick pulse to combine.
- Add 6 tablespoons of cold butter a few small pats at a time, and pulse to combine then. Then slowly add vegetable oil slowly with the food processor running.
- While the food processor is pulsing, add water a little bit at a time until a dough starts to form into a ball. You may not need to full 1/3 of a cup, do not add it all at once.
- On a floured surface, roll dough out as thin as you can with a rolling pin. Add more flour if needed when it sticks.
- Use cutter to cut the dough out and add cut outs to baking sheets. Continue to roll out dough and cut out crackers until all the dough is used up and place them on parchment lined baking sheet.
- Poke holes in each of the crackers: 2, 3, and 2.
- Brush the cracker cut outs with the egg wash and sprinkle with a kosher salt
- Bake in oven for 10 minutes in the center rack.
- Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and then brush with melted butter while still hot.
- Cool and enjoy!
Can I use my mix master instead of a food processor? I don’t have one
Yup!
Can I use a different oil? Olive oil or avocado oil?
Hi Tanya, you mean in place of the butter? I can’t say for sure as I have never tested this recipe with oil in place of the cold cubed butter.
Mine came out like thin biscuit, soft-like. Is this normal? Will the crisp up as the cool? Trying to figure out if they need to go back in or not for a few extra minutes.
I agree with the other commenter there was a bit too much baking soda.
Hi Maria! They shouldn’t be soft, sounds like they may need a few more minutes until they begin to turn golden brown!
What did you punch the holes with and any ideas about hole size or making more holes in them. For example I love Monets’ original entertainer crackers they are a close ritz cracker in taste but 2.5″ in diameter and have 21 holes in them. I want to make them using your recipe first and have viewed other recipes and no one specifies hole size,Thanks ahead of time.
Hi Cuyler! For this recipe, what you see in the pictures is the end of a metal skewer. If you want to fit 21 holes in, you may want to use a fork to get them a little smaller. Enjoy!
these are so great…love them♥️ pretty easy to make and taste great 👍 👌
Wonderful to hear! Thanks so much for sharing and taking the time to leave a review!
These are so easy and fun! Much better than Ritz!
So glad you enjoy them, Mick! Thanks for sharing!
You refer to using an egg wash but there’s no ingredients or directions how to make it. I’m sure it’s probably something simple if you are used to working with dough. I’m not so I really don’t know how to make an egg wash beyond the obvious… using an egg… presumably whisked. Do I add something to the egg? Water? Milk? Butter?
Hi Susan, so sorry that’s not more clear. In the ingredients it says that it’s one egg whisked – that’s it! Just a whisked egg brushed on top.
Pretty good recipe and flavorful. Toasty and buttery taste is what you said. Next time I may use less baking powder. A very easy quick mix.
I made mine a little too thick and didn’t tip with enough salt, but they are still pretty good and a very nice alternative to the store bought kind. I’m trying to eliminate packaged foods as much as possible and my household loves crackers, so thank you for this recipe!
I’ve also loved ritz and I appreciate that this recipe allows me to make my own.