Fruit & Nut Crisps with Truffled Cream Cheese

Aahhhhhhhh...that's better.  Back from my vacay and feeling great.  I was eager to get back in the kitchen and feeling super ambitious.  The trip was choc-full of amazing, bucket list-fulfilling culinary experiences, but there was little time for cooking.  (See my Favorite Spots page for restaurant ideas in south Florida.)  Guns blazing in the kitchen, I decided to tackle this copy cat recipe that I have had my eye on for a while.  It turns out that these were really easy to make if you have a little time on your hands (they have to be baked twice) and the reward is well worth it.  A perfect snack or offering for guests.  These sweet/savoury crisps are amazing with tangy cheeses.  This Truffled Cream Cheese was the perfect accompaniment.  A quick mix of cream cheese and sour cream with chives and truffle oil.  Really good!  Now, back to reality.

Fruit & Nut Crisps

Origin: This Genius

Notes:  This is a copy cat recipe of a popular artisan cracker.  I found the recipe here, it was really well done, producing a close match to the original.  I used my favorite fruits, nuts and seeds, you can feel free to do some substitutions.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup flax seed, ground
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Add the buttermilk, sugar and honey and stir a little, just to incorporate.  Add the remaining nuts, seeds, fruit and herbs and stir until just blended.  Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into 2 lightly greased loaf pans.  Bake for about 35 minutes, until they are golden brown and they spring back when pressed lightly.  Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.  You can freeze one loaf at this point.  Or you can leave the loaves until the next day to proceed with the next step if you'd like.

When ready to continue, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  With a serrated knife, cut the loaves into the thinnest slices possible.  Not more than 1/4 inch thick.  Lay the slices on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes,  flip the crackers over and continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes until deeply golden and crispy.

Makes about 8 dozen.

Truffled Cream Cheese

Origin: Gordon Ramsay

Notes:  I used light cream cheese and sour cream this time around and it was still delicious.

Ingredients:

1 8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

a few drops of truffle oil (I used about 12 drops)

Mix together the cream cheese and sour cream until there are no lumps.  You can use a mixer for this.  Season with salt and pepper and fold in the chives.  Add a few drops of truffle oil at a time to taste.  Serve with crackers or crostini.

Makes approximately 1 cup.