In Sock Monkey Slippers is a family food blog celebrating fresh whole foods and bringing the family together around the dinner table. You'll find step-by-step recipes for everyone in the family, product reviews, and a peek into the sometimes comical life of Meredith Steele in her sock monkey slippers.
Be on the look out! ISMS is getting a face-lift in May.
Crackers — little round parcels of cheesy goodness that practically everyone loves. Have you ever had a homemade cracker? It’s a thousand times better than in the box. Just like a real pine tree smells better than the one hanging from your rear view mirror. What? You don’t have a pine tree hanging from your mirror? Ok, then lets compare the greatness of homemade crackers to celebrities. A homemade cracker is like Jennifer Aniston and a box cracker is like Kim Kardashian. One is real and the other is fake and just might cause you to lose brain cells if you pay much attention to it. You get my point.
Stop. Before we go any further, I have to say these are irresistibly delicious and I’m actually a little mad that my husband took them with him on his 3 day trail running race this weekend.
It’s spring break. I have taken on a few extra clients this month and doubled my work load just in time to have Mia at home all day every day for a week. Makes complete sense, right? No one ever said I was smart. Monday, I thought I was going to get through. With deadlines looming I just took my computer wherever Mia and I went. I worked – she played. I worked – she tried to erase my phone while I wasn’t looking. I worked – she did erase my phone. I worked – and she was kidnapped by her loving grandmother. Tuesday went about the same. So by Wednesday, I brought Mia into the kitchen and she became my sous chef. Keeping her busy is easy as long as she can do something with her hands. This is her recipe as she came up with the idea all on her own.
The kid’s got talent. They are fabulous (and outstanding with brie)! Chocolaty with the surprise bite of sweet cherries and salty sunflower seeds these slightly chewy crackers are terrific snacks on their own or an elegant addition to a cheese tray. Cheers!
* I use 1/2 cup white flour and 1/2 cup wheat flour just because I want to cut down on my white flour intake. This recipe will work with 1 cup of white all-purpose flour if omitting the wheat flour.
In a food processor, add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Pulse to combine.
**Note: This can be done in a large mixing bowl by hand. When it comes time to add the butter, cut it in with a fork (as you would do when making a pie crust).
Place the cubed butter in the food processor and give it a few pulses until the mixture resembles wet sand. The colder your butter is the flakier your cracker will be. I freeze mine 10 minutes prior to making this recipe. Add milk and pulse until the mixture just starts to come together. You don’t want an overly wet dough but you want it to be sticky.
Next, add the cherries and sunflower seeds. Pulse just a few times until everything is incorporated.
Pour the dough out onto a work surface. Gather and squeeze it into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F while the dough is firming up in the freezer.
On a well floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a cookie cutter (or cut into squares with a knife). Place crackers onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gather the leftover dough and repeat. Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until firm.
Once baked, place the crackers on a cooling rack. Cool and watch them disappear fast!
* I use 1/2 cup white flour and 1/2 cup wheat flour just because I want to cut down on my white flour intake. This recipe will work with 1 cup of white all-purpose flour if omitting the wheat flour.
1. In a food processor, add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Pulse to combine. Note: This can be done in a large mixing bowl by hand. When it comes time to add the butter, cut it in with a fork (as you would do when making a pie crust).
2. Place the cubed butter in the food processor and give it a few pulses until the mixture resembles wet sand. The colder your butter is the flakier your cracker will be. I freeze mine 10 minutes prior to making this recipe. Add milk and pulse until the mixture just starts to come together. You don’t want an overly wet dough but you want it to be sticky. Next, add the cherries and sunflower seeds. Pulse just a few times until everything is incorporated.
3. Pour the dough out onto a work surface. Gather and squeeze it into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F while the dough is firming up in the freezer.
4. On a well floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a cookie cutter (or cut into squares with a knife). Place crackers onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gather the leftover dough and repeat. Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until firm. Once baked, place the crackers on a cooling rack.
With today being another snow day, I wanted to be able to make a recipe that Mia could help out with and enjoy. I searched and searched and all I could come up with were cookies that I had no interest in making. But as I was scrolling through the blogs I frequent most for ideas or recipes, I found the perfect savory snack for a snowy day. On one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen, I stumbled upon and old recipe, Cheese Straws, and was immediately inspired to create these…Beet Heart Shaped Cheddar Crackers with flax seed. I choose to add beets not only to add a little healthy kick but because I had a childhood friend that was severely allergic to red dye #40. I mean it made her turn into a wild tornado of CRaZY and from the age of 5, I decided to stay far away from red food coloring. I really did think about these things when I was a kid. It is a miracle that I grew up partly sane (notice I said partly). With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Beet Heart Shaped Cheddar Crackers are the perfect simple, savory, and flaky snack for everyone!
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces
3/4 cup flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
3 ounces (about 1/3 cup) pureed beets*
1 tablespoon half-and-half (I used milk, because that’s what I had)
* A quick note: If you follow this blog than you know that we still puree food even though Mia is over 2 years old. I find I can put practically every puree into anything. To puree a beet: Preheat oven to 400°. Wrap the beet in foil and place on a baking sheet to catch any juices. Place in oven and roast for 50 minutes or until you can pierce the beet with a fork. Remove and allow to cool. Peel the skin off with your hands. Quarter with a knife and place in a food processor or blender for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth. Freeze in ice-cube trays and once frozen store in freezer bags. Each cube is an ounce. Keeps for 3 months.
Preheat oven to 350°
In a food processor, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and the ground flax seeds in five 5-second pulses until…
the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (You caught me, I forgot to add the flax seeds and had to add them after I added the beets).
Add the beet puree and half-and-half and process until the dough forms a ball, about 10 seconds.
On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough till it is 1/8-inch thick. Honestly, you could go thinner than this for a crispier texture.
With your favorite cookie cutter, I chose a heart because it’s Valentine’s Day and the dough is perfectly pink/red, but you choose whatever you want, press the cutter into the dough. Repeat until all of the dough is used up. You will have to gather, re-roll, and use the cookie cutter at least twice.
Place the hearts on an ungreased baking sheet. If you have parchment paper use it.
Place on the middle rack in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until crackers are hard to the touch.
Remove from the oven and set the crackers on a rack to cool. Serve at room temperature.
Salty, cheesy goodness and seriously good. So good in fact I had to give half of the batch to my neighbors so I wouldn’t eat them all in one sitting.
seriously…good.
This is Texas. We still don’t know what to think about snow.
Beet Cheddar Crackers with Flax Seed (makes 35 hearts)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces
3/4 cup flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
3 ounces (about 1/3 cup) pureed beets*
1 tablespoon half-and-half or milk
* To puree a beet: Preheat oven to 400°. Wrap the beet in foil and place on a baking sheet to catch any juices. Place in oven and roast for 50 minutes or until you can pierce the beet with a fork. Remove and allow to cool. Peel the skin off with your hands. Quarter with a knife and place in a food processor or blender for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth. Freeze in ice-cube trays and once frozen store in freezer bags. Each cube is an ounce. Keeps for 3 months.
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a food processor, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and the ground flax seeds in five 5-second pulses until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the beet puree and half-and-half and process until the dough forms a ball, about 10 seconds.
2. On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough till it is 1/8-inch thick. With your favorite cookie cutter, press the cutter into the dough. Repeat until all of the dough is used up. You will have to gather, re-roll, and use the cookie cutter at least twice.
3. Place the hearts on an ungreased baking sheet. If you have parchment paper use it. Place on the middle rack in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until crackers are hard to the touch. Remove from the oven and set the crackers on a rack to cool. Serve at room temperature.
