Deborah Niemann, author of Ecothrifty: Cheaper, Greener Choices for a Happier, Healthier Life, offers up delicious Homemade Crackers recipe and a sweet treat of Caramel Corn.
Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 cup liquid*
- 2 tablespoons oil or softened butter
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar or honey
- large grain kosher salt
* You can use water, milk, juice, whey, or water in which potatoes were boiled. Milk makes the dough a little heavier and adds protein to the bread. Juice can be added for flavor. Orange juice makes great breakfast bread. Tomato juice makes a tasty bread to serve with salad. Whey is a natural dough conditioner and is great for helping whole grain breads to rise. The starch in potato water also helps to create a lighter loaf of bread.
Method
- Mix together all of the ingredients. Roll out the dough as thinly as possible in small batches and cut into squares, rectangles or whatever shape you want. Poke holes in the dough and sprinkle with large-grained kosher salt.
- Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Remove the crackers that look done and return the rest to the oven for another 5 minutes. Because it can be a challenge to roll out the crackers uniformly, some of the crackers may be done before others.
Caramel Corn
Ingredients
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup or honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- 8 cups popped corn
Method
- Melt the butter over low heat and stir to avoid burning it.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except for the popcorn, and stir to blend everything together.
- Pour the mix over the popcorn and toss to coat it well.
- Spread the coated popcorn onto a buttered cookie sheet and bake at 300°F for 15 to 20 minutes.
