Arizona Cheese Crisp Recipe

How To Make Arizona Cheese Crisp Recipe

Arizona Cheese Crisp Recipe - I’ve been going through the Simply Recipes archives lately, updating recipes that seem a bit neglected and in need of a little love. Here’s one of my favorites from my mother—what she calls a “Sonoran Quesadilla,” known in Tucson, Arizona where they’re from as “cheese crisps”. Unlike our usual stove-top quesadilla made with corn or flour tortillas and jack cheese, cheese crisps are open-faced, and made with very large flour tortillas, that are toasted with butter and cheddar cheese, and often topped with strips of mild green chiles.
According to my Tucson-native mom, these open-faced quesadillas are made with especially large, thin, flour tortillas that you could find in Sonora, the northernmost state of Mexico. Typically they are served on a large platter, sometimes cut like a pie, for everyone to share.
They are crispy, buttery, and absolutely delicious.

The tortillas one uses to make cheese crisps are much thinner than the sturdy burrito-sized flour tortillas we found to make these. It just means we need to cook them a little longer to get them crispy. Don’t pile on the cheese too much; as with pizza, doing so will weigh down the result.

Arizona Cheese Crisp Recipe Ingredients

One large, burrito-size 13-inch diameter or larger flour tortilla
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese
1 or 2 roasted green chiles, peeled, seeded, cut into strips optional
Method
Using the convection setting of your oven
1 Preheat your oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle. Place the flour tortilla on a large baking sheet a dark baking sheet or cookie sheet will work best. Spread the butter all over the top of the tortilla, all the way to the edges. The butter is important for the flavor of a cheese crisp, so don't leave it out!
2 Cook the plain buttered tortilla for about 6 minutes or until it begins to get lightly toasted. Check on the timing for your particular oven.
3 Remove the tortilla from the oven and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese, leaving about 1/2-inch from the edges. Add strips of green chiles in a star pattern if you want. Return the tortilla to the oven and cook for 2 more minutes, or until all of the cheese has melted. Remove from oven and eat!
My mother will use her oven's convection setting when she makes these cheese crisps. For convection, she'll put the buttered tortilla into a cold oven and heat on convection at 375°F for 7 to 10 minutes. Then she'll sprinkle the cheese and return the quesadilla to the oven for a couple more minutes.

Source Recipe: Here

Learn How To Cook Arizona Cheese Crisp Recipe