Friday, March 30, 2012

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Weekend of my life

So this Sunday may or may not be the determination day for at least the next year of my life. Actually it definitely is. That is the day I find out dietetic internship placement, which if my intuition and hard work are right, will be in Montgomery, AL. Bring on the anxiety and Sweet Tea.

The past few days have been a bit dreary and combined with some stress relief brings me to crank up the oven and bake. Now you would think the common baked goods would be coming out of my oven: Banana Bread, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cupcakes. But of course not! That would make sense, which is of course not me. Instead, I baked up one of the easiest, and tastiest recipes from the vegan blog Oh She Glows, which happens to be one of my favorite food blogs around. Although I'm not vegan, she has a lot of delicious recipes that I may have not thought otherwise to even try. Enter, homemade wheat thins. You read it right, wheat thins, made by you. I would have never thought of attempting these, but when I saw how few ingredients, and simple the process was, I gave it a try and am so glad I did! I suggest you do the same, before you buy a box of who-knows-what crackers, bake some up yourself on a rainy and otherwise uneventful day. You won't be disappointed. Besides, these ones are 100% whole wheat with minimal sugar so a snack you can feel good about. I adapted the original recipe to make a rosemary and garlic variety, which are SO good! Love the combo, and make a perfect vehicle for some creamy hummus!


Rosemary & Garlic Homemade Wheat Thins
makes about 70 crackers
adapted from Oh She Glows


1 1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 T sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground rosemary (i just crushed dried rosemary leaves with my rolling pin)
3 T vegetable oil spread (I used earth balance butter, but I also like smart balance)
1/4-1/2 cup water ( I ended up using 1/2 cup water, but it will depend on how dry your dough is)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees, and spraying 2 baking sheets with non-stick spray or lining with parchment paper. Next, sift or whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and spices. Next, cut the butter into the flour either using a pastry cutter, two forks, or what I did and use a whisk. I cut the butter in by using a twisting motion with the bottom of the whisk, which seemed to work just fine. Whatever method you're comfortable with.

Next, add the water and vanilla. Start with 1/4 cup of water at first, and adjust if your dough is still dry. Stir in the water until a dough starts to form, then finish incorporating with your hands. I really squeeze the dough in order to make sure its thoroughly combined. This is when you will know to add more water or not. 

Now cut the dough in half, or in quarters which I had to do since I have little counter space to work with. Flour a rolling pin and your counter liberally, and roll out the dough as thin as you can. This takes some muscle, but the thinner, the crispier and better your crackers will be. Now cut the dough into the familiar wheat thin shape, or what ever you would like. I tried to make them resemble the original as much as I could, but a few are a bit "rustic". It doesn't really matter in the long run, they will all taste the same. Just a matter of how picky you are about appearance.


Now transfer to the baking sheet, spray with a bit of cooking spray and sprinkle with some more salt and garlic powder. Bake for about 8 minutes, but keep a close eye on them since they burn easily. Repeat until your dough is used up, (which was two batches for me) and you are left with fresh from the oven whole wheat crispy deliciousness!



Store them in an air-tight container for around 2-3 weeks, if they last that long! Experiment with different flavors, I would love some new ideas! As always enjoy and let me know what you think.


What's your favor thing to dip wheat thins in??

2 comments:

  1. Betty and I just love your website.... ! You have created a spot on the web that teaches us how to eat healthier and happier..... thank you Emily
    for providing this site.

    sincerely G. Stricklin - Mojave Desert Calif.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Gene! That really means a lot to me. I'm glad I can do something I enjoy and inspire others at the same time.

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