I received free samples of Breton Gluten Free Original with Flax and Breton Gluten Free Herb and Garlic from Dare Foods Incorporated mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Dare Foods Incorporated and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.
Is there anything more delicious than an ooey, gooey mozzarella stick? In college, they were my favorite after-bar treat. I’d them at a diner or pop a few frozen ones in the oven when I got home. Even in my adult life plus long before in my childhood, I have always loved those cheesy sticks. When I was challenged with making a gluten free recipe, I was (no joke) eating cheese sticks. I’m not sure why, but this was the first time the horror of a mozzarella-stick-free life hit me — I’ve never seen a gluten free cheese stick! Even if they sell them somewhere I’ve never seen them, and that’s just not okay. Everyone deserves cheese sticks. Everyone.
In Monday’s post with the delicious whole cracker crust quiche, I told you about Breton’s gluten free crackers. That post was using the Original with Flax, and I admitted the Herb and Garlic were my favorite. Now you know why I didn’t use them for the quiche — I was saving them for mozzarella sticks! The crackers are seasoned for you, so there’s no need to add any herbs, salt, or anything. Perfect all on their own. Plus, using crackers makes these inherently crunchy, unlike bread crumbs.
Now, you know I couldn’t bring myself to actually fry anything, so baking it is. I’ve heard that string cheese get nice and gooey in the oven, plus it’s hard to “accidentally” overestimate how much cheese you’re using. I also couldn’t let the opportunity to add my latest obsession, sun dried tomatoes, into the mix. I chopped these into smaller pieces to make them more of a party snack, but if you’re making them just for yourself, you don’t have to cut them as small.
9 Breton Gluten Free Herb and Garlic crackers, divided
½ tbsp. flax
5 tbsp. water
2 sun dried tomatoes, finely diced (See note)
nonstick spray
Instructions
Cut string cheese into 4 pieces (each piece will be slightly smaller than a quarter). Freeze for at least 1 hour, up to a few days. Keep in the freezer until you are about to use.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (shiny side up) and spritz liberally with nonstick spray.
Pulse 4 crackers in a food processor until they resemble slightly coarse flour. If you don’t have a food processor, you can put the crackers in a bag and crush with a rolling pin or the side of a can.
Mix the cracker flour with the flax and water to form a paste in a small bowl.
In a separate bowl, crush the remaining 5 cracker with your hands until they are the consistency of large panko breadcrumbs. Toss the sun dried tomatoes in.
For each piece of cheese, do the following: dredge in the cracker flour paste until evenly coated (but not thickly coated). Toss in the dry mixture and place on the baking sheet. If making double, triple, or large batch, remove the cheese from the freezer in batches so it doesn’t have the chance to thaw.
Spritz the top of the cheese bites with nonstick spray generously.
Place on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 3 minutes. Flip, spritz with more nonstick spray, and put back in the oven for 7 additional minutes.
Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
If you need to reheat, put in a preheat 350 degree F oven for 5 minutes
Notes
I used vacuum packed sun dried tomatoes. If your tomatoes are packed in oil, press between paper towel to remove excess oil before dicing. You can also use refrigerated string cheese sticks and freeze (for at least one hour, up to several days) after applying the coating. Cheese MUST be frozen before baking or it will make a big mess.
All I can say is… Gimme the cheese!
Those look great! I love mozzarella, and it’s even better when baked/fried and dipped in marinara. 🙂
Genius – can’t wait to try these out!
Yes. Yes! Ooey, gooey is great…and they remind me of high school. (: The best. And now I can share w/ my kids. Love the addition of sun dried tomatoes
It’s so true – life without cheese sticks would be SUCH A SAD LIFE. So glad you made these. Cheese sticks for everyone!