Wednesday, March 9, 2011

I'm Going Crackers

So here it is, a week into March and I still haven't found the time to update the blog. Time flies ya know?
Today is cool and rainy, Spring weather if ever I saw it. I'll take rain over snow any day, but, Cool and rainy equals baking to me. I didn't want to bake something sweet, (well I did want to but I'm trying to be good), and I remembered seeing a recipe for homemade crackers in an old issue of Mary Janes Farm that I have hanging around. So I dug around in my magazine stash, pulled it out and tried these Italian herb and sun dried tomato crackers. Yum! They were supposed to have fresh basil in them but I was out so I used a grinder of Italian herbs and I think they turned out great!
There are several variations to the recipe, and I sure wish Mary Jane had them on her website because I just am not feeling the love of typing them all down here. But I will give you the recipe I used:>) They warmed up the house and didn't feed my wicked addiction for sugar. I just cut the shapes roughly because I have a lot to do tonight, but next time I plan on using some cute little cookie cutters I have just so they're purty. I prefer to think of them as rustic, you know I could make them awesome if I wanted to right?
So, here's the recipe:
Basic Farmhouse Crackers
1 1/2 cups flour                                       1/2 c water
1 1/2 t cream of tartar                            1 med egg
3/4 t salt                                                  2 t sugar
3/4 t baking soda                                    1 t balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup oil                                               1/4 c sesame seeds toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, Lightly spray or wipe baking sheet with oil
2. In a medium bowl, combine first four ingredients and mix well.
3. Add oil and stir until mixture resembles coarse meal.
4. Add water and stir until dough forms.
5. In a small bowl whisk together egg, sugar and vinegar and set aside.
6. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and roll out very thin, brush with egg mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cut, tear into strips or use cookie cutters to make any shape you want.
7. Bake 15-20 min. (depending on size and thickness of cracker) transfer to racks for cooling.

Store crackers in an airtight container. If they ever pick up moisture and lose their crispness just pop them into a 250 degree over for a few minutes.

Variations
Sun dried tomato basil crackers
1/4 c fresh basil
1/4 c sun dried tomatoes
2 T olive oil
2 T Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
In blender of food processor, add all ingr. and mix well. Add mixture to basic dough after step 4. Omit sesame seeds.

18 comments:

  1. Oh, they remind me of the look of sweet potato fries! I've been craving some chocolate ALL DAY LONG.
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, those look and sound amazing Kathy! I love sweets, but I think I love salty snacks even more...uh oh, I may be in trouble ;o) Thanks for sharing the recipe...sounds pretty easy!

    We'll be here blog redesign or not...it's you we come here for! You'll get to it in your good time and we'll love it...meanwhile, no worries! Seems like you told me something to that effect not too long ago :o)

    Hugs & Blessings,
    Becky

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can attest, they were tasty! Thanks for the treat, dear wife.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good Evening Kathy,

    Those look so good...I love crackers and that looks like Hummus. Being half Lebanese, I grew up on the stuff...yum!

    Have a great week

    Janet xox

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh goodness! They look yummy! Did you use canola or olive oil? I wonder if olive oil would work....
    Hugs,
    Penny

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my gosh save some for me! Lol that looks so delicious!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. WOW...I just came from Mrs. Staggs and her post said:
    http://ahappymiscellany.typepad.com/
    and another blogger was making crackers too!
    Yours look yummy! I'd snack on those all day.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh yum, you're making my tummy growl! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh delicious Kathy. :o)
    Thank you for sharing the recipe with us.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, my goodness! I need to head straight to the kitchen and make some of these. And I would LOVE the ones with tomato and basil - a favorite of mine.

    I haven't updated my header, either. I need to work on it soon - the snow photo needs to be replaced with signs of Spring!
    ~Adrienne~

    ReplyDelete
  11. If you're going crackers it must be a good thing to do! They look delish. Maybe I'll try them too. Right now I have a Butterscotch Granola recipe on my kitchen counter to make this afternoon. Hope all is going well with you and yours. Love...

    ReplyDelete
  12. They look scrumptious!

    I tried making crackers a couple months ago, with mixed results. We liked the graham crackers and cheese crackers but weren't too crazy about the wheat ones. Mostly, I decided they weren't tasty enough for the effort...except those graham crackers...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh my Kathy they look YUMMY! I will have to copy your recipe and try them myself - on a rainy day that is!
    Have a great week,
    xoxo
    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sugar--salt. I'm addicted to both. Sigh. I have a feeling there would have been none of your crackers left if they had been in my reach:P Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  15. MMMMMM.....those look reeeeeeaaaallllly good!!! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! I am adding this to my favorites to try out. LOVE hummus, too! Have you seen the commercial for Greek Hummus? The one where the old lady says "You look like a prostitute." Cracks me up every time I see it.

    Have a sweet day!

    xoxo
    Becky

    ReplyDelete
  16. They sure do sound yummy. Wouldn't they be cute at Thanksgiving using leaf shapes? I'll definitely be trying this recipe. Mimi

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh, man....I am making some of these. They sound and look amazing.

    I haven't been a good blogger this week...gone 4 days on the road trip with my daughter and grandgirls. So much fun....

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to say hello :)