Spring Flower Crackers Recipes

SIMPLE WHITE CRACKERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar until combined. Add butter pieces, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With the machine running, gradually add milk; process until dough comes together. Cover dough with plastic wrap, and allow to relax at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Unwrap dough, and transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Roll into 17 1/2-by-17 1/2-inch square, 1/16 inch thick (if dough continues to spring back, allow to relax again, covered with plastic wrap, for another 10 minutes). Sprinkle dough lightly with coarse salt. Gently press salt into dough with the rolling pin.
• Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into 2 1/2-inch squares. With a thin spatula, transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Liberally pierce with fork. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned and crisp, rotating baking sheets if needed for even cooking. Let cool on wire rack. Keep crackers in an airtight container, at room temperature, about 1 week.

BLOOMING SPRING FLOWER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
• Bake 28 to 33 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Place cooling rack upside down over cake. Turn upside down carefully so cake is on rack, and remove pan. Turn upside down onto another rack, and flip cake right side up. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In 2 medium bowls, place 3/4 cup each of frosting. To 1 bowl, add red food color to desired pink color; to other bowl, add blue food color to desired color. In 2 small bowls, place 1/3 cup each of frosting; add yellow and green food colors to desired colors.
• Place cake, top side up, on serving platter. Spread remaining 1 1/2 cups frosting on top and sides of cake.
• Using photo as guide, decorate as follows: Fit 1 decorating bag with large size star piping tip; fill bag with pink frosting. Pipe center of a rosette flower onto top of cake. Touch piping tip to cake to attach frosting-apply steady pressure to bag while squeezing; pipe in a tight circle to make a flower about 2 inches in diameter, tapping tip to cake to complete flower, and lift off. Continue to pipe different size rosettes and stars over top of cake with pink frosting. Next add blue frosting to same decorating bag. Continue to pipe rosettes and stars with blue frosting.
• Fit another decorating bag with medium-size star piping tip; fill with yellow frosting. Pipe different size rosettes and stars around top of cake to fill in empty spaces. Fit another decorating bag with small round piping tip, and fill with green frosting. Pipe green leaves and vines to fill in spaces.
• Store loosely covered at room temperature.

THYME CRACKERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pulse the flour, thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, add cream; process until dough forms.
• On a lightly floured surface, briefly knead dough. Divide into 4 pieces; shape into rectangles. Wrap each in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough into a very thin rectangle. Transfer to a baking sheet. Score the dough into 4-by-2-inch diamonds. Brush with egg white, and sprinkle with salt. Garnish each diamond with a thyme sprig. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake until golden brown and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Break diamonds into individual crackers.

SPRING FLOWER CRACKERS

Steps:

• Cut cheese slices into flower shapes using 1-1/2-inch cookie cutter. Reserve scraps for snacking or other use.
• Top each cracker with 1 pepperoni slice and 1 cheese flower.
• Place 1 olive slice in center of each flower.

HOMEMADE GRAHAM CRACKERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flours, wheat germ, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Put butter, brown sugar, and honey into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture, and mix until combined.
• Turn out dough onto a floured surface, and divide into quarters. Roll out each piece between 2 sheets of floured parchment paper into rectangles a bit larger than 9 by 6 inches, about 1/8 inch thick.
• Using a fluted pastry wheel, trim the outermost edges of each rectangle, and divide into three 6-by-3-inch rectangles. Pressing lightly, so as not to cut all the way through, score each piece in half lengthwise and crosswise, to form four 3-by-1 1/2-inch crackers. Stack parchment and dough on a baking sheet and chill in freezer until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Remove two sheets of dough from freezer. Pierce crackers using the tines of a fork. Transfer to large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake, rotating halfway through, until dark golden brown, 8 to 9 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Let cool on sheet 5 minutes; transfer crackers to wire racks to cool completely.