Spicy Cheddar Crisps – Low Carb and Gluten-Free

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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!