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Hi Bold Bakers!
Before we get started, there are some things you should know about this recipe: it only uses 4 ingredients, the Homemade Goldfish Crackers it makes are lovely and giant, and it’s so easy that my 19-month-old son, George, helped me make them from start to finish (with lots of sampling). You’ll only need cheese, flour, water, and butter — and I love knowing exactly what’s going into my son’s snacks. Let’s be honest, though, these are my snacks too!
Oh, and if you’re looking for something just as easy but on the sweeter side, try my Absolutely Adorable Homemade Animal Crackers, I also made them with George!
There is no long and elaborate backstory here. Everything written here on this page is designed to be helpful in some way on your journey to simple goldfish crackers made right at home. If by the end you need extra help, please leave a comment down below — we answer every single question we get!
What Are Goldfish Crackers?
Being from Ireland, I had never had a Goldfish Cracker until I had George, and it’s no wonder kids go nuts for them. They’re tiny crunch crackers made from cheese that are in the shape of little goldfish. What’s not to love?
These Goldfish Crackers are not only crisp, airy, and cheesy… but they’re also BIG! And, of course, they’re baked and not fried.
Shaping The Goldfish
Honestly, this is part of the fun! If you can’t, or just don’t want to, not to worry — you can make them as simple circles (or even squares, like Cheez-Its). To shape them like their namesake, though, you can use the cookie cutter I used and a toothpick or chopstick to make the eyes and mouth!
What You Need To Make Homemade Goldfish Crackers
- Mixing Bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- A Grater (Only if you don’t buy pre-shredded cheese!)
- Food Processor
- Baking Pans
How To Make Homemade Goldfish Crackers
I like to say that this really fun homemade version of Goldfish Crackers is gourmet — despite there being nothing fancy about it. It’s four ingredients, mixed together in a food processor until it turns into a dough. You then roll out the dough thinly and cut out your goldfish, give them eyes and a smile, then bake! You’ll be enjoying these in no time at all. Jump to the recipe now!
Troubleshooting
I usually keep this section reserved for all of the ups and downs I went through while recipe testing to land on all of the steps you’ll need to be successful, but this homemade cracker recipe is one of the easiest ones on my site. So easy, in fact, that you can make it with your kids! Just make sure all of your ingredients are fresh and ready to go.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips for Making Goldfish Crackers
- Freeze the pre-cut raw dough and then you can bake off crackers fresh every few days
- Once you make the dough you will want to either freeze it or bake it off in the first 36 hours as it can turn grey and not be as fresh.
- You can buy Goldfish Cookie Cutters on Amazon
- Use sharp cheddar for more flavor in your crackers
- If you want to add in 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, I left it out of the recipe incase the baker wanted to make those additions themselves
- You can cut out the dough, freeze the raw goldfish and bake them off in small batches when you want them rather than bake them off all at once.
Try These Other Recipes!
- Homemade Biscoff Cookies
- Homemade Digestive Biscuits
- 3 Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
- Homemade Graham Crackers
- Keto Crackers
- Homemade Animal Crackers
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!
Try These Recipes!
Watch The Recipe Video!
4-Ingredient Homemade Goldfish Crackers
Ingredients
- 2 cup (10oz/282g) all-purpose flour
- 1 stick (4oz/115g) cold unsalted butter (cubed)
- 2 ⅔ cups (8oz/225g) grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 3-4 tablespoons water
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the flour, butter, and cheese together until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Pulse in the water, one tablespoon at a time, and only enough so that the dough forms a ball.
- Remove, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours. (Note: don't keep the dough for longer than 36 hours without freezing it or baking it off.)
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface 1/8-inch thick. Rolling the dough thin will give you crispy crackers.
- Using a 3 inch Goldfish Cookie Cutters or another cutter cut out as many crackers as you can.
- Place on a lined cookie sheet and use a toothpick to make an indentation for the eye and the mouth of the fish.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) for roughly 15-20 minutes, until golden, and crisp.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also cut out the dough, freeze the raw goldfish and bake them off in small batches when you want them.
My older brother loves goldfish crackers. He has been fighting advanced cancer for 5 years. So when I saw this I decided to make them for him. He loved them and was very touched that I made them for him. So thank you for this recipe and that I was able to bring a smile to his face! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I am looking forward to making these with my 7 and 10 year old granddaughters. I’m just wondering if we can use almond or coconut flour rather than all purpose. We follow a Keto way of eating. Would anything change if we use the almond or coconut flour? Thank you.
This looks like a fun recipe but: Can I make this without a food processor?
George is adorable and love your recipes
It’s so bad we tried making it and it didn’t work! We did all the steps correctly and it didn’t work! The goldfish looked fine but when we tried picking it up if was all gooey!!!!!!!11!!!
Looks amazing! My kiddos loved watching Georgie in the video. Now this is on my list to make tomorrow! Thoughts on possibly using Bob’s Red Mill 1 for 1 gluten free flour?
Would this work with GF flour?
I made these with fresh milled flour and they were great! My grandkids loved the…and so did I!
OH HOW i ENJOYED watching you and your son ,, Bless him he is a darlin.. I remember when your show was on while you were expecting.. Thanks so much for sharing him.
I had lost my recipe for making these little crackers.. I bought tiny cutters.. to use for my dough..
These were awesome and easy to make with my 3 year old. He ate 6 of them in a row as soon as they came out of the oven! Thank you! 🙂