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Sunday, November 28, 2010

Sea Salt and Poppy Seed Crackers

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Last week I came home from work to find a large, heavy package awaiting me. Ryan and I tore open the box to find a Home for the Holidays Gift Basket from Hickory Farms, courtesy of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program. Complete with sausage, several kinds of cheese, crackers, mustards, and some candies, it was chock full of goodies for snacking on.



What are two to do when faced with a giant box of snack foods? Share with friends! Mike and Maggie came over for wine and appetizers and we put a serious dent in some of the Hickory Farms goods. Of course, I couldn't have them over and only serve purchased (or in this case, gifted!) foods! We also feasted on  kale chips, sweet potato chips, cranberry bruschetta (also pictured below), mushroom crostini (to be posted next week!), and finally, some homemade crackers to eat with the Hickory Farms meats and cheeses. 

Since my last foray into homemade crackers, I've decided that I like them infinitely more than most of what you can buy in the store. The same goes for these. I made these a day ahead of time, thinking they'd crisp up overnight, but I actually liked them best fresh out of the oven. They were good both ways, just better the first day! As with all homemade crackers, roll them as thinly as you can to give them that signature cracker texture. 


Sea Salt and Poppy Seed Crackers
from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 tsp sugar
-1 tbsp butter, cold and cut into 6 small chunks
-1 tbsp poppy seeds
-6 tbsp half and half
-sea salt and half and half, for topping

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300F. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a small bowl.
2. Using your hands, add the chunks of butter and rub into the flour until it is in tiny bits, evenly dispersed. Stir in the poppy seeds.
3. Add the half and half, mixing until a stiff dough forms. Lay dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a thin rectangle, approximately 8x10 inches. Using a pizza cutter, cut into squares.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Place crackers on the baking sheet. Brush sparingly with half and half. Sprinkle with sea salt.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, until crisp but pale. Cool on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.

*In full disclosure I want to report that I was given the gift basket courtesy of Foodbuzz and Hickory Farmers at no cost to me. All opinions regarding the products are my own.