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| Tarragon Crisps served with a creamy cheese
A little ironic that I decided to post about crackers since I sort of feel like I’m a bit nuts these days. There has to be some reason why I was so hell bent to make these today.
Making crackers is one of those things that I tend to think can be just too time consuming to worth the bother- but then again… In preparation for a luncheon I am making for my business partner Lauren tomorrow, I was shopping for something special to offer. The options on the market shelves were far from appealing, mostly filled with the old standbys. I am not afraid to say that this girl loves her Ritz, but not for la-di-dah entertaining. I did spot a box of gourmet crackers, but they were going to set me back about five bucks.Now let me be perfectly clear here. When it comes to fine food I can be fairly blind to price tags- but when I picked up the box and it nearly flew out of my hands due to it’s lightness- well now- that was just too silly.
And so that is how my insanity sets itself into motion.
But I do have to be honest. The hardest thing about making crackers was hauling out the Cuisinart and then wiping the counter clean. AND, btw, making crackers is also a nifty little way to use up some of those semi-dessicated herbs in the back of the fridge drawer.
A few turns in the food processor, a short rest in the fridge and then a quick roll out. Unlike a pastry crust, this dough is much easier to work with and roll out. There are two different recipes here. You can see from the top photo of the Tarragon Crisps, the dough is much tackier and soft. I used butter and half-and-half in that recipe. For the Cracked Pepper, I used olive oil and milk- which I feel made a better dough- though both are perfectly wonderful. In the end product I preferred the oil based dough better. It yielded a puffier, lighter cracker with a satisfying crunch.Another interesting note: If you’re looking to make a recipe with kids that doesn’t include mounds of sugar or chocolate chips- I say you can’t go wrong with this one. Heck, you can go cracker crazy yourself and cut out little shapes!
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Tarragon Crisp Crackers
makes about $20 bucks worth (or ~100)
2c AP flour
2T of dried herbs or 4T fresh
1T sugar
1 pinch salt
3T cold butter, cubed
1c cold heavy cream
1 egg white and salt for topping
In a food processor combine the flour, herbs, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine.
Toss in cold butter and pulse to incorporate into a grainy consistency.
With the motor running slowly pour in the cream. Continue until the mass forms a loose ball.
Remove dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a flat square, then wrap tightly. Rest in the fridge for at least an hour before rolling out.
Preheat oven to 375˚ and lightly grease two cookie sheets.
On a lightly floured surface roll out 1/4 sections of the dough into thiiiiiin rectangles. Err on the side of too thin. Score dough with a sharp knife if you want shapes, or leave whole to break into rustic pieces.
With a pastry brush dab on the egg white and sprinkle kosher salt on top (or seeds…)
Bake until done- now I say this because depending on the thickness the timing will be different. A good 10 minutes at least is what you’ll need, but keep a hawk eye on that oven, because they go from crunchy lovely to dark and hard in a snap.
Cool the crackers off the cookie sheet on a wire rack, then break into pieces.
Olive Oil Cracked Pepper Crackers
same yield as above
2c AP flour
1T fresh cracked pepper
1 pinch salt
1T sugar
4T Spanish Olive Oil
.75c whole milk
1 beaten egg white and salt for topping
Same exact methodology as above.
I hope you enjoy these lovelies! and if I haven’t said it enough lately: Thank you SO much for reading!
makes about $20 bucks worth (or ~100)
2c AP flour
2T of dried herbs or 4T fresh
1T sugar
1 pinch salt
3T cold butter, cubed
1c cold heavy cream
1 egg white and salt for topping
In a food processor combine the flour, herbs, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine.
Toss in cold butter and pulse to incorporate into a grainy consistency.
With the motor running slowly pour in the cream. Continue until the mass forms a loose ball.
Remove dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a flat square, then wrap tightly. Rest in the fridge for at least an hour before rolling out.
Preheat oven to 375˚ and lightly grease two cookie sheets.
On a lightly floured surface roll out 1/4 sections of the dough into thiiiiiin rectangles. Err on the side of too thin. Score dough with a sharp knife if you want shapes, or leave whole to break into rustic pieces.
With a pastry brush dab on the egg white and sprinkle kosher salt on top (or seeds…)
Bake until done- now I say this because depending on the thickness the timing will be different. A good 10 minutes at least is what you’ll need, but keep a hawk eye on that oven, because they go from crunchy lovely to dark and hard in a snap.
Cool the crackers off the cookie sheet on a wire rack, then break into pieces.
Olive Oil Cracked Pepper Crackers
same yield as above
2c AP flour
1T fresh cracked pepper
1 pinch salt
1T sugar
4T Spanish Olive Oil
.75c whole milk
1 beaten egg white and salt for topping
Same exact methodology as above.
I hope you enjoy these lovelies! and if I haven’t said it enough lately: Thank you SO much for reading!
rawtherspices says
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BLACK PEPPER
Botanical names: Piper nigrum
Family name: Piperaceae.
Black pepper is considered the `King of Spices` as judged from the volume of international trade, being the highest among all the spices known. Black pepper is produced from the still-green unripe berries of the pepper plant. Black pepper constitutes an important component of culinary seasoning of universal use and an essential ingredient of numerous foodstuffs. It has a number of medicinal virtues.
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