Cold Weather, Soup & Homemade Crackers

Warm Up with Soup & Homemade Crackers

We’ve been having really cold weather in Sonoma County lately and I don’t think there is anything better to eat on a cold day than soup and homemade crackers. I couldn’t think of a better time to share some easy, tasty, and quick cracker recipes with all of you.

Soup is just that much better when you have fresh crackers to serve with your hearty soup. I consider crackers the next best thing to fresh sourdough bread to go with your soup. Cracker recipes for me need to be simple and quick, no long-drawn-out complicated recipes in our busy lives. So, I had a lot of fun testing out recipes this month using olive oil as one of the main ingredients since it’s so good for you. Many of these cracker recipes can be adapted using your favorite herbs to fit your tastes.

Olive Oil, Sea Salt & Herb Crackers

Olive oil crackers are so simple to make and the ingredients are inexpensive, but go and buy any of the gourmet olive crackers these days and it’s amazing what a small package costs. The first recipe we share is fan adaptation from the Ottolenghi cookbooks that can be found at your favorite bookstore or on Amazon.

You can make these yummy crackers for a fraction of what they would cost to buy at the store and all you need are some simple kitchen tools, nothing elaborate! The next time you are craving a crisp, salty, fresh, and yummy snack or you want to impress your family or guests, serve these Olive Oil Crackers with Sea Salt and Herbs.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the surface you’ll be rolling dough on
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, plus a little extra
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Maldon Sea Salt Flakes for finishing
• Fresh dried herbs, your choice and combination: rosemary, oregano, thyme, tarragon, dill, sage, whatever are your favorite combinations, poppy seed, sesame seeds, there are really endless possibilities

Some other options are to mix your herbs into the original dough, start with a small amount, so you don’t overwhelm the dough. I like these crackers all three ways, herbs on top, integrated into the dough, and also mixed into the dough with a sprinkling of herbs on top.

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, water, olive oil, fine sea salt, and ground pepper for a few minutes until it comes together in a formed ball.
2. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and leave it to rest for an hour at room temperature.
3. Line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
4. Make walnut size balls from the dough and then roll out each as thinly as you can into long, oval shapes. Place the rolled-out crackers on the prepped cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Brush the individual cracker dough with olive oil and sprinkle with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes, your fresh herbs of choice, dried herbs, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc. I have also made up this dough with the herbs incorporated into the dough and I like it both ways.
6. Bake for 5-6 minutes or until crackers are golden brown in color. Allow the crackers to cool thoroughly before storing in an airtight container.

Cheesy Crackers Are So Good

I’ve been making so many homemade soups each week with the weather being so cold because soup is portable, satisfying, and good for you! I’ve been whipping up everything from Creole Gumbo to Chicken Noodle Soup. I’ve also been having a lot of fun trying new variations on old standards which keeps dinnertime interesting. With many of the lentil and bean soups I’ve been pairing them with parmesan Cheese Crackers and they taste so good! Parmesan cheese crackers may seem complicated to make, but they are really easy and a wonderful snack also.

Parmesan Cheese & Olive Crackers

If you love those very expensive Parmesan cheese and olive oil crackers as we do, we just had to figure out a great recipe so we could make these crackers at home. What is wonderful, these crackers are simple to make and a fraction of the cost of store-bought gourmet brands.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• Topping choices poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or Maldon Sea Salt Flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Place oven rack in the lower third of the oven,
2. Mix together the flour, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, rosemary, and garlic powder with a spoon.
3. Stir in the Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and water until the dough forms into a ball.
4. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a flat surface and sprinkle lightly with flour.
5. Transfer half of the dough to the dusted parchment paper and shape the dough into a rough triangle.
6. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it’s about a 1/8 thick or less. I use a penny to judge the thickness of my dough.
7. Sprinkle the dough with half of the toppings and lightly press the toppings into the dough using your hands with a light touch. Prick the dough all over with a fork.
8. Using a pizza cutter, cut your dough into rectangles about 1 x 2 inches.
9. Transfer the crackers to parchment paper covered cooking sheets, separate the cracker slightly because they will grow with baking
10. Repeat the above process with the remaining dough.
11. Bake your cracker until browned along the edges, which takes about 12-15 minutes. Keep a good eye on them, because you don’t want them to burn, which they can have a tendency to do with the parmesan cheese.
12. Cool the crackers on the baking sheet, then serve or store in an airtight container once completely cooled.

This cracker recipe was adapted from Hello Little Home’s Herb Parmesan Crackers. We just put our own spin on the recipe and you can too with trying different types of cheese instead of Parmesan and also using different herb combinations in the recipe above.

Enjoy these crisp days and nights it’s a great time for lots of enjoyable cool weather tasks. Try cooking some homemade soup and try your hand at home baked crackers, we think you’ll love them and how easy they are to make. To take housecleaning off your list of things to do, give us a call at Crystal Clear Home at 707-827-3316 or fill out our Free Estimate form and one of our cleaning professionals will be back in touch promptly to answer your questions.