HOMEMADE SALTINE CRACKERS - AND MORE!
 We have been talking about Comfort Foods on our Facebook lately and I do have a memory of my mother's soups accompanied by the lowly saltine cracker. I thought, for this post that we talk more about making our own crackers. Great for snacks and even better with soups, the cracker is one of the easiest and quickest products to make yourself and get a much better tasting cracker than anything you can buy at the store.
Saltine Crackers - These crackers are the most basic to make but can be spiced up and used to make some more interesting recipes. They can be made with the flour of your choice (we are choosing either triticale or spelt flour) but you can make them out of corn flour if you have some gluten allergies to deal with. These are very simple-to-make crackers. They are a blank canvas that can take on many flavours.
You can make these two ways crispy and crunchy. The only difference is how much butter you use. If you use 2 tablespoons they are crunch after they cool. If you use 1 tablespoon then they are crispy and make a cracking noise when you crack them into pieces. The flavour options are endless. You can use flour, whole wheat flour, or cornmeal for the base. The add ins are cheese, spices and herbs (as long as they have not much moisture). I made these tonight for dinner to go with a pot of stew. I made both types. The one in the pictures is the crispy type (The only amount left). These are super easy to whip up in the Bosch Food Processor or the Bosch bowl using the cookie whisks and take about 15 min. to bake. Watch these after 10 min. You are looking for a light brown around the edges. Let them cool completely before breaking into pieces. They harden as they cool. The crispy ones will make great chips for dips. The crunchy ones will make great chicken salad sandwiches.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour - all-purpose, corn meal, whole wheat or your choice (we mill our own in the Nutrimill)
1 to 2 Tbsp. butter
4 to 8 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. salt
Place the flour into your Bosch food processor. Add the melted butter, one tablespoon for crispy and two tablespoons for crunchy. Add salt. Pulse until well blended. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until you get a ball that sticks together (be careful not to add to much water). Place dough on a floured board and roll until 1/2 inch thick ( I like to use parchment paper to roll the crackers out and then pull the paper onto the cookie sheet) . Place on cookie sheet. At this time you can prick the dough with a fork) if you would like. (This keeps out some of the air bubbles) Place in a 400 degree oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the crackers are light brown around the edges. Remove crackers from pan and let cool completely. Break into serving size portions. (I used square 2" cookie cutters)
More Fun with Saltines - Pinterest is full of ideas of some really different ways to use Saltines as a snack or even a dessert.  Many of us older folks can remember the old Saltine Cracker Apple Pie recipe of many years ago. Well now people do even more with them. I went to Pinterest and here are a couple of links that I liked to use saltine crackers in very interesting ways. http://www.food.com/recipe/fire-crackers-423316 and http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/03/saltine-cracker-toffee.html It seems you can spice them up and crisp them in the oven for those that like a little fire in their food or you can turn them into toffee and chocolate delight. I bet your children could come up with some other interesting fare. Maybe even Saltine nachos! Let us know what you do with crackers to make them even more tasty!
Our next post will feature other Whole Grain Crackers including Gluten-Free Crackers. |
We have been talking about Comfort Foods on our Facebook lately and I do have a memory of my mother's soups accompanied by the lowly saltine cracker. I thought, for this post that we talk more about making our own crackers. Great for snacks and even better with soups, the cracker is one of the easiest and quickest products to make yourself and get a much better tasting cracker than anything you can buy at the store. 
crunchy. Add salt. Pulse until well blended. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until you get a ball that sticks together (be careful not to add to much water). Place dough on a floured board and roll until 1/2 inch thick ( I like to use parchment paper to roll the crackers out and then pull the paper onto the cookie sheet) . Place on cookie sheet. At this time you can prick the dough with a fork) if you would like. (This keeps out some of the air bubbles) Place in a 400 degree oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the crackers are light brown around the edges. Remove crackers from pan and let cool completely. Break into serving size portions. (I used square 2" cookie cutters)
Many of us older folks can remember the old Saltine Cracker Apple Pie recipe of many years ago. Well now people do even more with them. I went to Pinterest and here are a couple of links that I liked to use saltine crackers in very interesting ways. 
