One of my favorite snacks to make is crackers. The first time I made crackers I got hooked. It was so easy and way tastier then the store bought ones. Plus I could make the flavors that I wanted and didn't have to hunt for the ones that are only close to what I like. Another great reason I make my own crackers is because I know what goes into them, I don't have to worry about unwanted ingredients that are bad for us or ones that I can't pronounce.
Today I decided that I needed to use some of the basil that has been growing like a wild child in my garden, before the snow hits this week. Mix that with my all-time favorite sun-dried tomatoes (that I dried from our garden tomatoes) and we have a Home Run!
You will notice that I use 2 different flours. The unbleached is for the "sturdiness" of the cracker, and the brown rice flour is for the "crispiness" of the cracker. I found that when I make crackers, brown rice flour really adds a lot of the cracker-like qualities that I enjoy in homemade crackers. I have tried whole wheat flour and I have found that it makes the cracker a little too tough - for my taste.
One more important tidbit I want to point out is that you want to make sure that you chop your sun-dried tomatoes really small. The bigger they are, the bigger the chance they will stick out on the top of the dough and get burnt. I learned that one the hard way. Burnt sun-dried tomatoes are really gross and yucky, so you have now been warned - LOL. Happy Baking! Would love to know if you make these and how you like them.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1 1/2 Tbsp garlic salt
1/3 cup minced dry sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup minced fresh basil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup olive oil
1 cup water
Kosher salt for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS
Today I decided that I needed to use some of the basil that has been growing like a wild child in my garden, before the snow hits this week. Mix that with my all-time favorite sun-dried tomatoes (that I dried from our garden tomatoes) and we have a Home Run!
You will notice that I use 2 different flours. The unbleached is for the "sturdiness" of the cracker, and the brown rice flour is for the "crispiness" of the cracker. I found that when I make crackers, brown rice flour really adds a lot of the cracker-like qualities that I enjoy in homemade crackers. I have tried whole wheat flour and I have found that it makes the cracker a little too tough - for my taste.
One more important tidbit I want to point out is that you want to make sure that you chop your sun-dried tomatoes really small. The bigger they are, the bigger the chance they will stick out on the top of the dough and get burnt. I learned that one the hard way. Burnt sun-dried tomatoes are really gross and yucky, so you have now been warned - LOL. Happy Baking! Would love to know if you make these and how you like them.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1 1/2 Tbsp garlic salt
1/3 cup minced dry sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup minced fresh basil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup olive oil
1 cup water
Kosher salt for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flours, garlic salt, Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, and basil. Slowly add olive oil and water and stir until just combined. Do not overwork the dough.
- Line a 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide cracker dough into 3 equal parts. Starting with the first ball of dough, transfer it to a baking sheet and roll out dough to about an 1/8" in thickness. Use a knife to score the dough into rectangles. Prick each individual cracker with a fork a few times and sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat process with the other 2 balls of dough.
- Bake for 15-25 minutes or until crisp and just beginning to brown. Baking time depends on thickness of crackers, so be sure to keep an eye on them.
- Allow to cool completely and then break sheet into individual crackers. Store in an airtight container.
- Spread some cream cheese or your choice of topping and enjoy. These are also great, just by themselves. Careful though...these are very addicting!
