Monday, May 28, 2007

SMOKY CHILI CRACKERS

Sometimes I get a little fed up of always snacking on sweet stuff, so I decided to make a few crackers that will fulfill my need for savory treats and will give me as much pleasure as cookies...

As I'm a big fan of my "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook", I sped into my room and got a hold of this incredible "bible" chock-a-block full of marvelous and scrumptious recipes, went through it and found what I was looking for: a recipe for the most wonderful crackers I have ever eaten so far!

Those "Smoky Chili Crackers" are perfect to nosh (see definition) on! Not only are they nice looking with their attractive golden orange color, but they are also wonderfully spicy and pleasantly smoky tasting. Delicious and attractive...

Those crunchy and flavorful crackers will rejoice all the amateurs of good things who love salty foods this is why I really recommend you to try them, especially if you love aperitives as they are very good with wine, cocktails and other kinds of alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages!

~Smoky Chili Crackers ~
Recipe by The King Arthur Flour and adapted by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums

Makes about 6 dozen crackers (I made less).

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups (188g) Plain white flour
1/2 Cup (72g) Yellow cornmeal

1 Tbs Tomato paste
1 Tbs Nonfat dry milk powder
1 Tsp Ground cumin
1/2 Tsp Baking soda

1 Tsp Salt
2 Tsps Castor sugar
1/2 Tsp Smoked paprika powder (see infos)

1/3 Tsp Chili powder
1/4 Cup (63g) Unsalted butter
1/2 Cup (7.5 tbs or 113g) water


Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, dry milk, ground cumin, baking soda, salt, sugar, paprika powder and chili powder.
3. In a small recipient mix together the tomato paste and
water.
4. Cut the butter in the flour
and rub between the fingers until the mixture is flaky.
5. Add the water mixture in order to make a workable dough.

6. Gather the dough into a ball and divide it into two pieces.
7. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to 3-4 mm (1/8 inch) thickness.

8. With the help of a cookie cutter, cut into 3-4 centimeter (1.2 inches) squares.
9. Place them on a baking tray covered with parchment paper.
10. Bake the crackers for 20 minutes.
11. Remove them from the oven and let cool on the pan.


Remarks:
Instead of 1 tablespoon tomato paste you can use 2 tablespoons tomato powder that you'll firstly have to mix to the dry flour mixture.
You can replace the smoked paprika powde
r and chili powder by 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (see infos).
If you prefer to shortening, then can use it instead of butter.
Store those crackers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with guacamole (see recipe), salsa (see recipe), cheddar or chile con queso (see link). You can also eat them alone at any time of the day.

13 comments:

  1. hmmm, a croquer! ils sont superbes!
    elonine194.canalblog.com

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  2. oooh I am going to have to add you to my blogroll - I LOVE food!! My human also loves Switzerland - she visited there (briefly) last summer and thought it was stunning and so clean!

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  3. Your crackers look excellent! I am also a big fan of King Arthur's books and magazines. The recipes are detailed and almost everything is explained!

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  4. une recette que je vais tester j'adore les crackers fait maison et les tiens parraissent tres bons et bien épicés

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  5. i would love to try this recipe out, looks delish! However, one question tho.- is cornmeal same as corn flour?

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  6. it looks very tasty

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  7. Cela doit être très bon !!!! j'adore les petits apéros

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  8. Hummm, il sont à croquer ces crakers.
    Bisous, Doria

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  9. Très jolis et certainement très bons ces petits crakers. Je note ta recette!

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  10. I am a chilly fanatic, so this will be a great one for me to try. Thanks!

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  11. Une recette à tester, j'adore les crakers.
    Bravo

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  12. J'adore comme tu decris ce que tu nous presentes! Je les essaierai ces crackers, tu m'as encore convaincue! Et ta photo est bien belle.

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  13. LEONINE 194: Merci beaucoup!

    YAO-LIN: Thanks! I will do the same, then. Great to hear that Switzerland has left a mark on you...

    ANH: Thanks for your kind comment and for visiting my blog! Yes, TKAF recipes and books are great and very detailed. I love their stuff...

    MOUNET: Merci! Tiens-moi au courant du résultat, ok?

    KRIS: Thanks for your visit and comment! Cornmeal (yellow) is not the same as cornstarch or corn flour. Here are links that might be helpful: http://www.foodsubs.com/Flournw.html
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornmeal

    CUISINEPLURIELLE: Thanks :-D!

    POM D'API: Merci! Oui, les apéros, j'adore...

    DORIA: Merci beaucoup, Doria! Bises..

    CHRIS: Merci! Tiens-moi au courant du résultat si tu testes la recette...

    NORA B.: Thanks for your visit and comment! Yes, it's great stuff...

    MINOUCHKAH: Merci! Une fois la recette testée, dis-moi ce que tu en auras pensé...

    CONFITUREMAISON: Merci pour tes gentils compliments :-D! J'aimerais savoir ce que tu en auras pensé, une fois que tu auras testé cette recette.....

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