It's a beautiful day today--the fog has cleared, and it's blue sky and sunshine and awesome. Johanna and Eric are outside. Abby is reading in her room. And I am making a big mess in my kitchen, which is one of my very favorite things to do.
So essentially, my point is this: It's a good day for crackers.
I found a recipe for Goldfish a few months ago on StumbleUpon (that's a fun way to spend an afternoon, just FYI), and I loaded it into my Recipe Box app (totally worth the $5 or whatever it cost) and then sort of forgot about it, as I am prone to do, except then I made The Cracker Resolution, which will henceforth be called The Cracker Project because it sounds cooler, and I started looking through my files for candidates. Ta-da!
Yeah, not much of a story there. Well, I tried.
The recipe (I don't feel bad about posting this because it's all over):
Combine the following in a food processor:
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I used medium because that's what I have)
4 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
Add, 1 tablespoon at a time:
2 tablespoons cold water
...And pulse that around until a doughish substance is formed. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it.
Gather into a ball and put into a small bowl; cover and put in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. (You're supposed to use plastic wrap, but why? Reduce!)
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Roll out into a 1/8-inch thickness (or, you know, whatever) and cut into desired shapes. (Look, I don't have a goldfish cookie cutter, nor do I want one, so I just sort of used a pizza cutter and made square-ish shapes and declared it all perfect.) Transfer pieces to a cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes.
The verdict:
First of all, the dough was a dream. And I couldn't really keep the girls from picking at it. Well, it IS just a bunch of cheese, really. The finish product tastes more like a cheese biscuit than a cracker--they're chewy, not crunchy--but I've read a few reviews that say they'll crunch up by tomorrow, so we shall see. Even with the chewy texture, everyone has beens scarfing them down. They're good. I've had to hide them so there will be some for the girls' lunches tomorrow. Abby has already asked that I make them again, and Johanna has suggested I call them Cheez-Its instead of Goldfish. (Well, she has a point.)
UPDATE, 1/10:
Some lessons learned: The crackers never did "crunch up" for us--they stayed soft little cheese biscuits. Which is fine, as long as you're just experimenting for the heck of it anyway, I guess. And they were great on Day 1, okay on Day 2, and are now officially cat food on Day 3 (um, because Madie likes them. I'm pretty sure she's senile, though). These "crackers" would be a great addition to soup night--they don't really take any longer than making traditional biscuits, unless you count the 20 minutes of chilling time--but not so much good for lunchbox filler. So there you go. Eat 'em while they're fresh.
The photo proof:
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| Cutting into PERFECT shapes, obviously. |
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| Look, I'm not a professional photographer, alright? I know this looks whack. |
Ah, little crackers! Seeing you in your jar fills my heart with joy. Apparently I need to get out more. P.S. This is all that survived out of 7+ dozen. Ah, well.
P.P.S. Happy 89th birthday, Gramps!
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