Throwback Thursday - “Baking Yesteryear”

 January 16... "Throwback Thursday"

We have been having so much fun reminiscing over our favorite childhood recipes as we browse through our new "Baking Yesteryear" cookbook, by B. Dylan Hollis. (Such a funny dude, we love his videos) 

Anyway, we thought today would be a great day to share with you all our two bakes so far for the month. 

We chose "Continental Johnny Cake" (corn bread) on page 78 and "Wacky Cake" on page 104. Both turned out fantastic. You will notice that the corn bread may look a little dark speckled in color, that was because we mixed yellow cornmeal and blue cornmeal together. 

TWD: "Baking with Julia" - Swedish Oatmeal Hardtack

Our "Tuesday's with Dorie" challenge today was all about hardtack! And I am not talking about the little pretty ribboned candies that your grandma use to hide in her candy dish... I am referring to good old fashioned "Swedish Oatmeal Hardtack" or oatmeal crackers. They are sooooooo yummy and easy to make. I wish I would have tried this recipe six months ago when I was sick and craving crackers, but couldn't have all the salt, plus they are momma approved for my granddaughter, being low salt and sugar.

Saltine Toffee

Never made it to my workdesk today, because I have been working on getting finger foods ready for our Young Women / Relief Society Fashion show. We had a great time and our young women done a great job modeling and explaining there modest style clothing. I am so proud of our Young Women and the amazing example they set for the younger generation. 

On the menu tonight was...
Savory Cream Puffs, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, Sparkling Mango Lemonade and a new dessert that I have been saving on Pinterest called "Saltine Toffee".

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 large Hersey bar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

24 saltine crackers

Place saltines on large baking sheet, lining them up side by side. Melt butter and sugar in small sauce pan, bring it to a boil and pour over saltines, coating all saltines. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Next melt chocolate and stir in pecans. Add small spoonful to top of cracker and place in fridge until chocolate is set. Serve at room temp.

TWD: "Baking With Juilia" - Matzos

I have made a lot of flat breads through the years, but I don't think I have ever actually made MATZOS. 

We created ours using a fresh milled flour mixture of white, barley and pecans (for flavor) and then we added sesame seeds, poppy seeds, black pepper for taste and texture. The recipe calls for sea salt to be sprinkled to top just before baking so we used pink Himalayan sea salt. Not sure we will do that again, because the chucks of salt were hard and extra salty. Other than being a little time consuming with all the rolling, they are a very tasty cracker style flat bread. We served ours with Mozzerella Capresse Salad and Sardine Escabeche.

They reminded me of the Sardinia Crispbread that we made a couple of years ago. 

Homemade Cheez-its & Cheddar Puffs

We decided it was a "Toss Together Tuesday" kind of day and we decided to make Homemade Cheez-its and Cheddar Puffs. They are so easy to make and very tasty. I was surprised at how close they taste to regular store bought crackers.

INGREDIENTS:

10 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons heavy cream 

1 tablespoon water                                                  1 egg white

Any assorted eatable seeds and or spices., like sunflower, sesame seed, poppy or pumkin seeds...

DIRECTIONS:

1. in a clean and very dry food processor mix the cheese, butter, flour and salt pulsing on low speed until combined and course in texture. Slowly add 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream and mix as the dough forms a ball. If needed, add the additional tablespoon of water a little at a time until the dough forms. Divide the dough into two small balls, wrap with plastic wrap, you can refrigerate and keep dough for up to three days. 

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two Large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Next roll each  dough ball into a very thin 10x12-inch rectangle (the dough should be no more than ⅛-inch high). In bowl, beat egg white and water until foamy, brush on top of dough. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut the rectangles into 1-inch squares, then transfer them to the baking sheets. Sprinkle with assorted seeds and or spices.

3. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until puffed and browning at the edges. Immediately move the crackers to wire racks to cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.