Ok maybe it’s silly, but a success in the kitchen can totally turn my mood around and make me feel like I can conquer the world. In this case, even following someone else’s recipe versus the incredible pride of making up my own. It’s been a challenging couple weeks over here, but I must be doing something right since I am blogging for the third day in a row (today with scotch in hand on this lazy rainy day), and loving everything I make.
So today’s triumph? Crackers. Something I’ve been wanting to attempt for a while now, but always been scared off by thoughts of large time commitments or just the seeming impossibility, somehow, of making my own. Don’t ask. I don’t know why they seemed so hard. But they did, and having succeeded, and succeeded in making absolutely delicious ones … makes my day. Top that with having perfect, local, fresh farmer’s market spread to put on them…. WIN.
No recipe this time, since I followed the recipe here, but I’ll add a few of my own notes.
[Edited 10/23/12: Link no longer works, so see below for the full recipe.]
- These are delicious cheesy crackers (I was craving Cheez-Its!), but the pepper is noticeable, so I would go easy on it next time. Unless I really want a cracked pepper version, in which case I would add more in order to really emphasize it. :)
- I found that rolling between parchment paper was unnecessarily complicated. Just flour a surface and your rolling pin, and you should be good to go. Add a little extra flour if your dough is too sticky, or a little extra liquid (I needed about an extra 1/2 tablespoon) if not sticky enough.
- Roll THIN. 1/4″ is way too thick for crackers, and even 1/8″ was a bit thicker than I would like. I highly recommend poking with a fork as she tries out, to keep thinner and less puffy. The thinner they are the more cracker-y, and the more likely to be crisp rather than still having some chewiness.
Lastly… I snacked on them with this:
Image from the Six Circles Farm website
Rosie’e Scape-A-Moli, from
Six Circles Farm. Garlic scape pesto. Yum. I tasted this at the
Ithaca Farmer’s Market in May when I was moving my mom into her new house, and I had to take some home. As I begin to finally unpack the boxes her moving left me with, I uncovered the jar and seem to be about to finish the whole thing in one sitting. Or maaaaybe two. So perfect. Wonderful reminder of the perfect bright flavors of real, whole foods, and why I love them so much.
Have you ever made your own crackers? Do you have a favorite recipe? Let me know what I should try next!
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Recipe as written – I recommend following my tips and changes above. :)
1 C all-purpose flour
1/3 C nutritional yeast
1/2 t black pepper
1 t fine sea salt
1/4 C non-dairy butter
1/4 C water or non-dairy milk
Combine flour, yeast, pepper, and salt. Cut butter on top and combine with a mixer, a fork, or your fingers, until it gets the appearance of a coarse meal. Add water or milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, and combine until dough forms.
You can choose to wrap the dough in plastic and place it in the fridge for later use, or roll it out immediately.
Preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, such as Silpat.
Roll out your dough between two pieces of parchment or Silpats, a little under 1/4 inch. Cut out shapes using the smallest cookie cutters, about 1 to 2 inches. [Or simply cut with a knife into squares, as I did above.] Repeat until you run out of dough, rolling it out again between batches.
Place crackers on prepared sheets. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, depending on thickness, until crackers are light golden brown on the bottom.
Place on a rack to cool down. These crackers freeze well, if you manage to keep them around long enough for that.
Yield: about 60 small crackers, depending on the size of the cookie cutter.
Variations:
Add cayenne pepper, chili pepper flakes, or dried herbs of choice, to taste.
Choose different flours, such as a combination of spelt, chickpea, brown rice, or whole wheat, to get different textures and flavors.
These crackers look fantastic! Definitely going to make them soon!
Awesome, enjoy! :)
Articles like this just make me want to visit your wbeiste even more.
Cool, Esther! Yours look very cheezitsy. Wasn’t it super easy? I also did not use the parchment paper to roll out the dough, even though the recipe calls for that. I should’ve mentioned that like you did (in fact, I’ll edit my post now). :) You also inspired me to make another batch for this weekend. My nephews will be staying the night, and they always want to make something. This will be a repeat, but I don’t think they’ll mind.
SO easy! Yay, glad to have inspired you. I agree, don’t think they’ll mind. ;)