Soggy crackers? Make them into pastry...

oojeyboojey

I just recycled an opened box of Ritz crackers that had gone rather soggy - I dried them out on a baking tray at the lowest setting on my oven for about 15 minutes - they still tasted stale at this point (I used the rest of the oven for something else at the same time so avoid wasting the heat). Then, I whizzed them in my blender and substituted them for their weight in flour in the following savoury pastry recipe:

200g plain flour
50g butter/marge
50g vegetable shortening
¼ tsp salt if it’s a savoury pastry
- or 25g caster sugar if it’s a sweet pastry
¼ tsp icing sugar (makes it crisper)
Some chilled water/milk
1. Mix the dry ingredients and rub in the fat using your fingertips (or chop the fat up very finely and whizz the whole thing in a blender until it resembles breadcrumbs).
2. Then add 2 – 4 tbsp chilled water or milk to bind it, cutting it in using a butter knife (or the blender).
3. Finally, squeeze it together to form a ball – the exact amount of liquid you need to add will vary depending on air humidity, temperature etc. You want the pastry to bind without being too sticky – but slightly sticky is preferable to slightly dry.
4. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 10 minutes before rolling out.


I made them into some mini quiches and used up some cottage cheese that was on the turn for the filling. They were very yummy!

trixietoes

What a fab idea! I'm forever throwing away soggy crackers. I'll keep them all now and transform them in to something scrummy.

Thanks for sharing. :beer:

redfraggle_2

do you think it would work wiht digestive biscuits for sweet pasrty? don't want to throw them away

mgardner

redfraggle wrote: »

do you think it would work wiht digestive biscuits for sweet pasrty? don't want to throw them away

I save soggy digestive to use as a base for cheesecake. I can never see the point in using fresh ones as they go soggy anyway when mixed with the melted butter.