If you are like me, and learned how to ski as an adult, you are familiar with that fear as you slide downhill catching speed and see curves coming up, trees on both sides, overwhelmed by that feeling of “this might not have a happy ending.” That is pretty much what 2020 feels like. Eleven months and counting of sliding downhill feeling out of control. But 2020 cannot rob us of Thanksgiving. There are many things to be grateful for, including the fact that we are still hanging on to the ski poles, and braving the elements. To warm us all up for my favorite American holiday, the Home Bakers Collective got together to share a few recipes inspired by the season. Here is my little contribution. Pumpkin Crackers and hummus. To start your meal on a festive note.

PUMPKIN CRACKERS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

for the white dough:
60g all-purpose flour 1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
about 2 tablespoons water

for the pumpkin dough:
50g all-purpose flour
10g pumpkin flour (or all-purpose)
1 tablespoon pumpkin puree (canned)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
about 1 tablespoon water

Hheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking pan by lining with parchment paper.

Make the white dough: in a small bowl, combine all ingredients and knead by hand to form a dough. Adjust water, you don’t want the dough to be too sticky. Reserve.

Make the pumping dough by mixing all the ingredients, again adjusting with more all-purpose flour in case it is too sticky (the pumpkin puree will add quite a bit of moisture). Reserve.

Allow both balls of dough to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Divide each dough in two and marble the two colors. Roll each piece very thinly, the best way is using a pasta rolling machine or Kitchen Aid attachment, but you can definitely do it by hand. Cut in pumpkin shapes using a cookie cutter or simply in small pieces.

Bake for about 10 minutes, depending on how thin you rolled them, until they start to get brown and crisp. They will get slightly harder as they cool. Serve with your favorite dip.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Pumpkin flour is a great ingredient when you want to get flavor without adding too much moisture. It works well in cookies also. Since it contains no gluten, it behaves completely different from all-purpose flour. You will have to play a bit with the dough to get a similar texture in both the white and pumpkin components. As usual when you marble two colors, the dark will be dominant, so keep that in mind. You can always use more of the white dough and marble with 1/4 of the amount of dark. The recipe I shared makes a small batch of crackers. Since it is just me and the husband around, I did not want to make a huge amount. The recipe will double easily.

For the pumpkin hummus, visit my old blog post with a click here. And of course, stop by The Home Bakers Collective to see what everyone else decided to share. One blink of the eye and Thanksgiving will be here. Make sure you keep you and your loved ones safe.

(post might take a couple of hours to be published in the Collective, check later if not yet there)

ONE YEAR AGO: Black Sesame Japanese Milk Bread

TWO YEARS AGO: Swirls and Whirls

THREE YEARS AGO: The Tabatiere

FOUR YEARS AGO: Curry Turmeric Sourdough

FIVE YEARS AGO: Brigadeiros de Morango

SIX YEARS AGO: Feta-Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Artichoke-Saffron Souffle

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Cinnamon-Wreath

NINE YEARS AGO:  Yeastspotting 11.11.11

TEN YEARS AGO: Oven-baked Risotto

ELEVEN YEARS AGO:  Potato-Roquefort Cakes with Ripe Pears