Crispy toasted Cheddar cheese with a spicy little twist. A perfect low carb snack. This post is sponsored by Tabasco.
Okay, I admit, cheese crisps are easy to make and not particularly innovative. I know what you’re thinking…”Gee, Carolyn, this is how you choose to showcase your culinary talents for a Tabasco Cooking Challenge? Really? You couldn’t come up with something a little more, well, complicated?” Yeah, well, these cheese crisps are different. These ARE innovative. So stop being so mean to me. And it’s not just that I tossed the shredded cheese with Tabasco sauce before making the crisps. See the funky lines on them? See the almost waffle-like shape to the crisps? That, my friends, is a cheese crisp cooked in a panini press. Yes, a panini press.
See, told ya. Pretty innovative and pretty darn fun. And an even easier way to make an already-easy-to-make low carb snack. Just plop some of your cheese on the hot press, close the lid, wait about 1 to 2 minutes, and out they come. All funky and waffle shaped. And they come off the press incredibly easily, since cheese has such a high fat content.
I got the idea the last time we were making panini (low carb panini, naturally). Some of the cheese oozed out of the sandwich and became perfectly crispy and it got my little mind whirring. I was holding that one in my back pocket, when along came Tabasco®, challenging me to come up with 5 recipes in 5 days with a severely limited ingredient list. Tabasco® and cheddar are perfect together and I can attest that the crisps go really well with low carb tomato soup. And when they are hot off the press, they are still soft enough that you can shape them whatever way you please. If you make them a little bigger and fold them over a wooden spoon, you could make taco shells with them too. So many possibilities. How could you have doubted me?
If you don’t happen to have a panini press, a waffle maker could work as well. Just be sure it isn’t a Belgian waffle maker, as they are so deep, your crisps may get stuck. You could also just cook these in the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment and cook at 400F until crispy.
If you’re in the market for a panini press, I highly recommend the one we have, from Krups. It’s never failed me!
Spicy Cheddar Crisps – Low Carb and Gluten-Free
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese
- Tabasco to taste, I put in about 1/2 teaspoon
Instructions
- In a small bowl, toss shredded Cheddar with Tabasco sauce until well coated.
- Heat panini press to medium.
- Using half the cheese, spoon four circles of cheese about 3 inches in diameter each onto hot press.
- Close lid and let cook 1 to 2 minutes, until browned and crispy. You can peek and see if they are done...if they stick firmly to one side and don't come apart, they're all set.
- Use a rubber spatula to peel crisps off press.
- Repeat with remaining cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
HAH! We did this in a quesadilla maker and made GIANT crisps! With the boots, cactus, etc imprinted in the cheese!
Then cut them in the pre-marked triangles, voila! Super-sized Doritos!
Cute!
Mine just became a puddle of melted grease. They never crisped up. What did I do wrong?
I figured it out. I’m not using a panini press, as I have a Foreman grill with interchangeable plates. I had to have it on the highest temperature, and leave them much longer, otherwise they were bendy instead of crispy.
Good to know, thanks Heidi!
back again wondering what went wrong…made small and bigger ones….they all melted and ran down the tracks. the heat was on 5 and also tried 3 any ideas? thanks ( i have the same krups model as pictured)
Could have been the brand of cheese, I suppose?
If we were in the same room you would see me casting admiring glances your way…and honestly that is not something I do all the time, but you do come up with such good ideas. so, dusting off the panini maker and making slightly bigger ones to stuff with bbq chicken and shredded cabbage. Thanks for the ideas.
Thank you!