Concrete crackers

I never have. But, I have had a cookbook of Native American (Western) foods which had a cracker based on pinon nuts.

I won't post recipes tonight, am still killing an apple torta for another half hour, but tomorrow...

if you find your pinon nut recipe, I'd be interested..

I'll look....

It's very very simple. I have NEVER tried this recipe.



Pueblo Indian Cookbook: Recipes from the Pueblos of the American Southwest. by Phyllis Hughes

Have you got a pasta roller?

Yes, I do... even use it sometimes.

Using pasta rollers to make crackers was what hooked me on the food part of taunton. I'd gone over to the building/construction part along with Jeanne de Seattle, met mrs sealpoet in the gardening forum, browsed in the sewing/crafts section, then while poking in cookstalk happened on crackers by way of pasta roller. It was love (and that was before they taught me about lamb you can eat with a spoon).

I do get their food updates, but never join because of the fee. But they may have info available to the freebie person (a certain percent of their recipes don't require joining) so I'll check.

Thanks, littlek. That seems a tad spare, but I do have the corn husks at hand.. pinon nuts cost arms and legs without your own pinon. Whine.

I have a feeling I've started a cracker thread before (great minds run into their selves...).

Given the hint re using my pasta fool macchina, I'll do some googling. Also it occurs to me to check out the word 'crispini'.

ossoB, 99% of the Taunton site is free. I wouldn't be there otherwise.

The only thing they're really requiring people to pay for is a variant of mastercook software (don't tell 'em I don't think it's not more than that). It's not a requirement to use the recipe exchange and discussion forums.

I was trying to find that sunflower seed/cheese cracker I remember but don't remember, and found this seemingly easy recipe online --

http://www0.dealtime.com/xPR-Cuisinart-Little-Pro-Plus-LPP~RD-122412699268


"The recipe that I have used often when getting my Christmas goodies boxes ready was for Sunflower seed Parmesan cheese Crackers. Since many of my family are on the Low-Carb diet they were all looking forward to getting these tasty little goodies. The recipe I found was in the 500 Low-Carb Cookbook that I did a review on some time ago. For those who miss a cracker with their soup or salad may want to try this in their food processor.

Sunflower Seed Parmesan Cheese Cracker

1 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup water.

Grind sunflower seeds and grated parmesan cheese to make a fine powder. When ready pour ¼ cup water through the feed tube while machine is running. Your dough will form, turn off machine and carefully remove the blade. With spatula turn dough onto parchment paper the size of a large cookie sheet. Shape dough and place another piece of parchment paper on top to roll dough out into as thin a sheet as possible. Remove top parchment paper and cut edges to fit cookie sheet then score dough into the size crackers you would like. I use a pizza cutter. Bake in 250 degree oven and watch carefully as you do not want them to burn. Remove parchment paper and crackers to rack to cool. When cool break crackers and store in covered containers.

For added flavor I include into work bowl along with the seed and cheese other spices like Mrs. Dash seasoning, pepper, dried hot red pepper or chili powder. Try different seasonings to get something you like."

From epicurious.com -

Lemon Pepper Parmesan Crackers

Servings: Makes about 44 crackers.


ingredients

1 1/2 cups finely grated fresh Parmesan (about 1/4 pound)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper plus additional for sprinkling the
crackers
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
preparation

In a bowl stir together the Parmesan, the flour, the zest, and 3/4 teaspoon of the pepper and with a pastry blender blend in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the center, add the water and the lemon juice, and combine the mixture with fork until it just forms a dough. On a work surface knead the dough until it is just combined, transfer it to a sheet of wax paper, and using the wax paper as a guide form it into an 11- by 1 1/2-inch squared-off log. Chill the dough, wrapped in the wax paper, for 1 hour, or until it is firm enough to slice. (The dough may be made 2 days in advance and kept wrapped well and chilled.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices, arrange the slices 1 inch apart on baking sheets, and bake them in batches in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes, or until they are golden around the edges. Transfer the crackers carefully with a spatula to a rack, let them cool, and sprinkle them with the additional pepper.

Found it!

The perfect cracker, in m'memory -

Dr. Kracker(tm) Organic Bread of Distinction
Pumpkin Seed Cheese (Crackers)

Oh, yea... http://www.drkracker.com/ourkrackers/flavors/pumpkinseedcheese.php


A2K Amazon link

Looks like Whole Foods has them. Since I know I like them, might make more sense for me to order them from Amazon in bulk, for what I figure would be somewhat less per package, balancing that with a trip across town.

Next trick will be to concoct my own. By which time I'll probably hate pumpkin seed cheese crackers.

Huh. A lot of the recipes in my news update aren't free, but enough are and are interesting that I don't just knock off getting it. I'll look into it more carefully re the discussion/exchange part.

I take that back about the Mr. Kracker pumpkin seed cheese crackers. They've changed or I have. The packaging is different. And now they're hard like concrete crackers. In the past, they weren't as soft as soda crackers, but not these very dry slabs... Now I really do need to learn how to bake my own.

So, Mark Bittman agrees..

in today's Bitten blog -
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/dining/04mini-web.html

IF you think of crackers as little bits of pie crust, or fast-cooking bread, you quickly comprehend why they’re so easy to make. Which only makes it more befuddling that no one does, since packaged crackers are universally overpriced and often contain ingredients with which you’d never cook, starting with artificial ones and continuing with dough “conditioners” and preservatives.

Crackers can be made with just flour and water (as in water crackers, or matzo), but like almost everything else, they’re better with richer ingredients. These, typically, are butter, oil, and milk or cheese or both, along with flavorings like seeds, herbs and spices. I like a simple, flakey, buttery cracker, often with cheese. This could stem from my childhood addiction to Cheez-Its.

This is basically pastry dough rolled out thinly. But it’s easier in a way, because while you want to keep a pie crust tender, and therefore work the dough as little as possible, here you can beat it up a bit. You’re going for a substantial bite and developing the gluten " the protein in the wheat " will help you get that. Even if you have to roll the dough out more than once, even if you roll it thrice, the crackers will only get flakier.

Once you get the hang of it, which will take exactly one try, play around. You might skip the cheese and add freshly chopped rosemary or thyme to the dough. Swapping pepper for salt as a topping makes a difference. Or top with minced garlic or onion, sesame or poppy seeds, or whatever is on your favorite commercial cracker. In every case, you are going to make it better.
end/quote

Recipe
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/dining/041mrex-web.html?ref=dining

I just finished reading/watching that. I think I might try to make them.

I made some from a recipe in a recent Penzey's catalog - different than this recipe on Bitten - and they were delicious, causing me to say I'd never buy crackers again. I think I posted the recipe, will look for a link, and if not, write it up. Cracker variations.. a new theme.

Penzey's Cheese Straws & Crackers, from the Christmas 2008 catalog
[...]
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup all purpose flour
4 TB butter
1/2 - 1 tsp crushed red peppers
1/4 - 1/3 cup milk
2 tsp kosher flake salt
1 - 2 TB poppy, sesame, or caraway seeds for sprinkling (optional)

[...]
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cheese, flour, and 3 TB butter, which has been cut into small chunks. Rub together with your fingers until crumbly. Add the crushed red pepper -- use the smaller amount for starters, you can always make the next batch hotter if desired. Using a wooden spoon, mix in as much milk as needed to get the dough to stick together.

For straws, lightly flour a table or cutting board, and roll the dough out as you would for cookies. Slice into pencil rod shapes, about 1/4" wide and 4 - 6" long, and carefully place on cookie trays coated with vegetable oil spray.

For crackers, roll the dough into logs and slice. If you chill the dough it will slice more easily.

Melt the remaining TB of butter and brush the tops of the straws or crackers. Sprinkle with salt, then top with poppy, sesame, or caraway seeds as desired. Caraway seeds are stronger, so sprinkle sparingly.

Bake for 10 - 14 minutes, until golden brown. Carefully remove from pans right away. Serve warm or at room temperature.

[...]
Yield - 24 - 48 is a rough estimate depending on how thin the dough was rolled and how long the straws are.

Joy of Cooking had recipes for cheese straws, I seem to remember. Seems like they were made from puff pastry. I'll check when I get home.

My husband refers to these crackers as "roof shingles", but I rather like them. I don't like the price - comes out to something like 75 cents per cracker. I've looked around for a recipe, but I haven't found one that sounds right. Based on the ingredients I could probably come up with something that was close. I just have to find the time to mess around and allow for expensive failure.