Cooking for Seven

Some things are a bit difficult to make at home. Like whole wheat crackers. It’s just hard to make them crispy, tender, and tasty.

Here’s a recipe that comes very close.

Notes:

I experimented by adding spices, Parmesan cheese, and nuts to make the crackers more flavorful. The original flavor is very nice as well. Please, experiment! Get creative!

The dough is very similar to pie dough and should be handled gently for tender crackers.

To get perfectly even crackers, you can roll them out using a pasta rolling machine.

Wheat Crackers

Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (I used sunflower seeds)
• 1/4 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• Scant 1/2 cup milk
• Kosher salt, for spinkling

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 325°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) Mix together the flours, nuts, raw sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter. Gradually add milk until the dough comes together.

3) On a floured surface, roll out 1/3 of the dough very thin - about 1/16 inch. Sprinkle with salt, spices, cheese, etc., if desired. Cut into squares, triangles, circles, or whatever shape you wish. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.

4) Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Makes approximately 8 dozen crackers.

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On Monday, my siblings and I went to Grandma’s house to help her make lefse (a traditional Norweigian flatbread). Stop by my personal blog to read more about it.

This Wednesday was Dad’s birthday. Finding I didn’t have a present, I decided to bake him some biscotti. I was a little concerned he wouldn’t like them. Twice before I have made biscotti - and failed miserably. However, this batch turned our quite well (perhaps due to the fact that I actually followed the recipe).

“Those were good,” he said the next day. “Those are good.”

I am pleased and satisfied.

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:: Chocolate & Almond Biscotti ::

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole almonds, toasted and chopped coarse
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons softened butter, divided
• 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (120z) bag of chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 325° F. In a large bowl, beat 1 cup of butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture with the mixer on low and beat until well combined. Stir in the almonds. If the dough is too wet to handle, stir in an additional 1/2 cup of flour.

3) Butter 2 large baking sheets. Divide the dough into 3-4 portions and shape into long, flattened logs on the baking sheets, about 5 inches wide and 5/8 inches thick.

4) Bake the logs in preheated oven for 27-30 minutes, or until firm and slightly browned. Transfer logs one at a time to a cutting board and cut diaganally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange sliced back on the baking sheets and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

5) Line two large baking sheets with wax paper. Melt the chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons butter in a double boiler. Place in a rectangular baking pan and dip the bottoms of the biscotti in the chocolate. Place the dipped biscotti onto the wax paper lined baking sheets and place in the freezer to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

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P.S. This is my entry for Eat Christmas Cookies 2. Stop by and see the roundup of delicious Christmas cookies!

These are the tortillas that changed Dad’s mind about soft-shell tortillas. They are way tastier than store-bought, especially when eaten fresh from the skillet.

: : Whole Wheat Tortillas : :

Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

• 5 cups (25 oz.) hard red or white wheat flour + extra for rolling
• 1/2 cup palm oil shortening or coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water

Directions:

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:: Graham Crackers ::

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Adapted from King Arthur Flour

• 2 cups (8 ounces) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/4 cup Sucanat
  
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup (3 ounces) honey
• 2 to 3 tablespoons (1 to 1 1/2 ounces) milk (approx.)
• additional milk for glaze
• cinnamon-sugar (optional)

In a mixing bowl, combine whole wheat flour, sucanat, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat egg till light, then add butter, honey and 2 tablespoons milk. Stir into dry ingredients until you have a fairly stiff dough, adding additional milk if necessary. Wrap dough in waxed paper and chill until firm, about 1 hour (or longer, if it’s more convenient).

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead gently until it holds together. Roll dough out till it’s about 1/16-inch thick; make sure rolling surface is well-floured, or you’ll have trouble transferring crackers to baking sheet. Alternately, you can use a pasta machine to roll out your crackers. This makes the whole process a lot easier.

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Cut dough into 3-inch squares, or use a cookie cutter to cut into any shape you please. Prick each square several times with a fork, and place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Brush the tops with milk, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar if you’re so inclined, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crackers are lightly browned. Remove crackers from oven, transfer to a wire cooling rack, and cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 2 dozen graham crackers.