Tomato Basil Crackers

It happens every year. SO MANY TOMATOES! This is not a complaint, just a fun fact. And so for the forseeable future, besides canning and freezing tomatoes at a rapid pace, I will also be sticking them into everything. Enter here a tomato cracker. But who wants just a tomato cracker? I( bet some would love just a tomato cracker) But a tomato basil cracker, well that is something people will want. And yes, I have a buttload of basil at he moment too.. I cook with what I got!

Tomato basil crackers. First off, I needed to make a road snack for the mr and cut up chunks of raw tomatoes would not have gone down well with him, so I figured what better way to use up some tomatoes then a cracker situation because why the hell not.  I was a little hesitant to use fresh tomatoes and not cook them or roast the in anyway before using them in the crackers, but I glad I didn't. The tomato flavor really shines through, pairs beautifully with the basil, and you get to skip having to deal with cooking down the tomatoes, which makes them all the more easy to make.

So I made the crackers and gave a baggie to the mr to eat, which he did right then and there (with some sweet ass baba ganoush because yes) then packed a big bag for the road trip. Not only was the mr chowing down, but my sisters were gobbling them up too, even the one who is gluten free.  That is good cracker validation. 

If you have never made your own crackers and you are a cracker person, now is the time to start doing it. I don't eat crackers personally, but the mr and every one around me really seem to be cracker people so a while back I started to make them at home, and once you make a homemade cracker, the store bought ones will just not be acceptable anymore. But they really are super easy so you really should be making them at home anyway.. No pressure though.

The stuff. Flour, olive oil, tomatoes, fresh basil, and sea salt. 

Chunks of fresh tomato go into blender and get blended up all nice and smooth. Add in basil and oil and pulse until basil turns to little specks.

Pour the blended mixture into the flour.

Mix with a spoon until you can't mix anymore then dump onto the counter.

Keeping the counter nice and floured, knead dough for a minute until it all comes together into nice ball.

Working with half of the dough at a time, roll out one of the pieces  about 1/4-1/8 inch thick.  (really flour counter and rolling pin) 

And cut into crackers.. Shapes are up to you, but inch to 2 inch squares are easies to cut. 

Place crackers onto backing sheet. Before oven time and after oven time.  They shrink and puff up a little bit in the oven. That is what a cracker is suppose to do. (but if you don't like that you can prevent it by piercing the crackers with a fork before they go into the oven) 

Crackers be cooling. 

And that's it. Simple, and delicious. 

Crackers are looking all pretty like I am about to have party or something. I even made baba ganoush to serve with them. Lucky mr, he got to have this cracker party all to himself. Ha (He did not eat all of these crackers at once, that would be crazy) 

-C

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Tomato Basil Crackers

makes between 100 -125 crackers 

• 3 cups flour
• 2 large tomatoes  ( equal to 1 1/4 cup of tomato puree )
• 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves 
• 4 tablespoons olive oil 
• About 2 tablespoons sea salt 

Remove core from tomatoes and place into food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and measure out 1 1/4 cups of the puree. Any left overs rs can be used as food later on. Dump measured puree back into blender and add in the basil and oil and pulse until the basil is in little pieces but not completely blended in.  Add flour to a big bowl then pour in tomato mixture and mix until a dough forms. Dump out onto counter and knead for a minute or two until dough is uniform in texture. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

On a floured surface, divide dough in half as to make rolling it easier, and roll dough into a rectangle that is 1/4- 1/8 inch thick. It is important to make sure the rolling pin and counter are well floured to avoid the dough from sticking. Once rolled out, sprinkle with sea salt and lightly roll the dough once more to kind of press the salt in then cut with either pizza cutter or a cracker cutter, or a knife, into 1 1/2 inch squares. The edges are going to be wonky shaped and you can either except them as they are or re roll and recut. (Note. IF you want your crackers to late flat and not puff up while baking, stab the crackers with a fork before they go into oven to create air vents. But honestly, most people really like the puffed up cracker)  Place cut crackers onto a baking sheet and stick into oven. Bake for 15 minutes, checking after 10, until the crackers are golden brown.  Don't forget to roll and bake off the other half of the dough!

Once crackers look good, remove from oven and place onto cooling rack. They will get crisper as they cool. 

Eat as many as you want. Store extra crackers in a airtight container or bag. 

Dill Pickle Saltine crackers

The mr is a saltines fanatic. I personally don't get it, but he really, truly loves a good fresh package of those salty crispy crackers, and loves to make a little cracker crumb mess. (I think it does it to drive me crazy)

 The other night during a particularly crumby saltine cracker snack, he declared that the saltine people (who are these people?) must come out with flavored saltines. I then continued to burst his bubble and told him I am pretty sure the saltine people have, in fact, come out with flavors, but he was skeptical and did not believe my words. Whatever dude.

But then I got to thinking, "why the hell haven't I made flavored saltine crackers yet?" So make flavored crackers I did. I know that the mr is really into dill pickled chips (beause I can smell the when he eats them) and I have been buying these mammoth jars of pickles from the Costco superstore (I love pickles but more then that I need the gigantic jars). so I had me a shit ton of pickle juice. It was meant to be.

The first time I made the crackers, I did a really small batch and wasn't expecting anything amazing, just going for a decent whatever cracker. But no, the few that I managed to make, the mr went nuts for. He told me they were the best fucking cracker that he has ever had and I now have to make them for him all the time, and that it is now a birthday tradition (it was his birthday). He said they were the prefect dilly-ness, the pefrect texture and just the right amount of salt. Perfection.

Well that made me happy so instead of waiting for his next birthday, I just made a big batch. Again, more proof that I am the best girlfriend ever!

The stuff. Flour, dill pickle juice, olive oil and some dried dill and salt.

Flour into a bowl gets drizzled with olive oil and mix around with a fork.

 Then in goes the pickles juice , same deal, mix together with a fork until the mixture forms a dough. (almost resembling a pie dough)

Place dough down on counter. Let it sit there for a few minutes to give it time to rest.

After the rest, roll the dough out as thinly as you can (try for about an 1/8 inch).

I found that when I slightly damped the counter that the dough was easier to roll. It might be because I have wood counter top so this may or may not work for you, but is worth a try.

And with a knife or dough cutter (or fancy cracker cutting tool), trim off sides (if you want) and cut into 2 inch squares.

Note. IF you want to, poke a couple little wholes into the tops of the crackers. Doing so will prevent the crackers from poofing up (I was told the poof is good)

And place the crackers on a baking sheet, brush tops with the pickle juice, then sprinkle with chopped dill and a tiny bit of salt.

Stick into the preheated oven.

Bakeuntil they start to turn a light golden brown and arepoofing up a little (go ahead and grab one now for quality control)

These crackers be cracking. And wouldn't you know it, they are already all gone. Next time I make them I am going to have to hide them.

Have a great weekend!

-C

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 Dill Pickle Saltine Crackers

Makes about fifty 2x2 crackers

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 6-8 tablespoons pickle juice
• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• finishing salt to taste
• tablespoon chopped dried dill

Preheat oven to 350

Place flour into a shallow bowl and drizzle the olive oil in. Mix around with a fork. Grab pickle juice and drizzle in 6 tablespoons of the juice and mix with the fork until a dough forms. Add in another tablespoon or two if the dough needs more moisture to come together.

Form dough into a ball and let rest on the counter for a few minutes (good time to wash the dirty dishes)

After the rest, take the dough and roll it out to about 1/8 inch or as thinly as you can. Weirdly enough, I found that I was able to roll my dough out better when I damped my counter. The dough didn't slide around and it still lifted up easily with a spatula.. but do what works for you.

Once you have rolled the dough, trim sides to clean lines and cut into 2x2 inch squares (you can cut into any shape and or size you like) Any trimming reform into a ball, roll out, and make a few more. (If you want a more authentic looking cracker, you can poke little whole into them. Doing this also make the crackers not poof up when bakes)

Place crackers on a lightly colored (or parchment lined) baking sheet. Brush each cracker top with a little pickle juice and sprinkle the tops with salt and dill. Place in the oven to bake for about 12 minutes or until the crackers have poofed up and are turning slightly brown.

Remove from oven, let cool completely and either eat right away or place in a air tight container for later.

These crackers had no later.