Herbed Saltines

A thoroughly contemporary take on the recipe for "Souffled Crackers" that dates back to a 1918 cookbook from Fannie Farmer’s Boston School of Cooking. Also called "Ice Crackers" because before baking, the soda crackers are briefly dipped into ice water! Yes, this is a weird retro recipe but oh so ever worthwhile!

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Will readers please take it on faith that when I launched "Summer Easy" that I never once envisioned doctoring saltines with herbs and salt? But I’ve now made these simple almost-homemade crackers four times in ten days, each time to rave reviews and honestly, despite the totally weird technique, they’re just delicious, crispy salty oniony bites.

If taste weren’t enough, there are at least two more reasons to love these crackers.

COST Store-bought crackers are expensive, reaching up to $4 and $5 for a 12-ounce box. Saltines are cheap, a pound box sets me back $1.19.

TEMPTATION If a box of Triscuits sneaks into the house, look out, my will power is lousy. Saltines, not so much. If a box is around, there’s no temptation to down the box in an evening binge.

ADAPTABILITY This is definitely a concept recipe to play around with, have a little fun with. I loved a recent batch sprinkled a little barbecue rub, a mix of salt, sweet and heat. One version I've yet to try is a cinnamon and sugar sprinkle to create a "dessert cracker" to top with a bit of cream cheese and a piece of fruit.

So You May Not Believe This.

But the first step in Herbed Saltines is to fill a shallow bowl with ice water.

And Then It Gets Even Weirder.

Because the second step is to dip the saltines in the ice water! I count to ten, that works about right for me, until the crackers are wet but not yet fully soaked and turning to mush.

After that, the prep work is more straight forward. Lightly brush the wet crackers with oil and sprinkle with salt and fresh chives. Then bake! Then devour!

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HERBED SALTINES

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 45 minutes
Makes 3 dozen crackers, easily halved or doubled

• Saltines
• Olive oil
• Good salt – Maldon, fleur de sel
• Chopped fresh herbs – chives (my favorite so far), oregano, thyme or rosemary, say

Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Get out a baking sheet; if it’s prone to sticking, line the sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Fill a large flat bowl with a cup of ice and water to fill. With your hands, submerge four saltines into the ice water for 10 seconds (yes, it's c-o-l-d!) and then arrange flat-side down on the baking sheet about 1/4 inch apart. (Work quickly, the crackers will soften and once they’re in place, can’t be moved.) When the tray is full, lightly brush or spritz the tops with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and chives.

Bake for 25-30 minutes (some times longer, depending on how wet the crackers are and how much oil is brushed on) or until crisp and golden.

SERVING SUGGESTION Best served the same day. The crackers are perfect as is but also are strong enough to use as a snack cracker for a simple hummus or a bean dip, say. I’ve also made tiny cucumber and tomato sandwiches with slivers of cheese.

ALANNA's TIPS A silicone mat / parchment aren't required unless your baking sheets are prone to sticking. You can skip the oil (either intentionally or oops, by accident, the last time I made Herbed Saltines for photos), they'll still crisp up and taste good but won't take on a pretty golden color. Salt is critical for the crackers, don’t skip or skimp. I’ve experimented with whole wheat saltines too. They need to be soaked a little longer (15 seconds, say) and baked less (20 minutes, say). The plain ol’ crush-em-up for tomato soup saltines remain my preferred starting point.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Four Crackers, assumes 1 tablespoon olive oil used on the whole batch: 66Cal; 3g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 358mg Sodium; 9g Carb; 0g Fiber; 0g Sugar; 1g Protein WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 1.5 & PointsPlus 2 & SmartPoints 2 & Freestyle 2 This recipe has been "Alanna-sized" with reductions in fat and increases in no-calorie, nutrient-rich and flavorful fresh herbs.

My gratitude to Kate from Warm Olives who created at least a one-batch head start by figuring out that the original recipe just wouldn't work, perhaps because today's soda crackers are different than the ones in 1918? The Fannie Farmer recipe soaked the crackers for 20 minutes and soaked them in an entire stick of butter!

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More Homemade Cracker Recipes

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~ more appetizer recipes ~

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Easy Dips and Spreads for Crackers

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~ more appetizer recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

~ Baba Ganoush ~
~ Beet Pesto ~
~ Caponata ~
~ more spreads ~
from A Veggie Venture, my food blog

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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