Comments on: Homemade crunchy snacks

Question: Homemade crunchy snacks

bigmusic — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:56:49 -0800

I would like to make crunchy snacks from scratch. Please give me recipes. (Slicing up a vegetable or a fruit is not a recipe)

By: twistofrhyme

twistofrhyme — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:04:50 -0800

you can soak dried soybeans overnight in water, then spread them on a lightly-oiled baking sheet and bake them for 20 mins or so. sprinkle with salt and presto, crunchy.

By: ysabet

ysabet — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:31:54 -0800

Soak chickpeas overnight, rinse, roast and season.

Also, a slightly odd greek salad - chunky chopped cucumber, capsicum, sundried tomatoes and fetta is brilliantly crunchy.

Air-popped popcorn, of course.

... there are more, but i'm far away from my reciepe books at present ..

By: fjardt

fjardt — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:55:31 -0800

Very disappointed not to see more responses to this... i'd like some crunchy snacks too :)

By: bilabial

bilabial — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:11:31 -0800

I make granola and eat it out of hand. Bonus points because it doubles as breakfast if you stir in some yogurt and/or add fresh fruit.

3 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (I have to get this at Whole Foods. DO NOT use the sticky sweetened stuff.)
1/2 tsp salt (This is also very important)
6 tsp maple syrup
6 tsp dark brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp warm water
1 cup dried cranberries or other dried fruit.

preheat oven to 250*F

set the dried fruit aside and mix everything else together. I dissolve the salt and sugar into the oil and water, then I stir in the oats and other stuff.

Layer on a sprayed (you know, like with Pam) baking sheet with a rim. Bake for about an hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so. The granola is done when it's, well, crunchy. If you smell granola it's probably time to stir, even if it seems early. If you smell burning, take it out of the oven altogether.

Once the granola has come out of the oven, let it cool to room temp, then add in your dried fruit.

Feel free to subsitute out the nuts for different kinds. Also, check out other granola recipes online, because there are many, and this is just what I've come up with over a couple of years that consistently works for me.

By: zeph

zeph — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:36:48 -0800

Thinly spread some Marmite on Melba Toast and sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan cheese, then stick them under the broiler until they're warm for something that tastes sorta like homemade Twiglets (and if you don't know what Twiglets are your life isn't yet complete!). Marmite and Melba Toast is also good unbaked and with a little cottage cheese on it.

People tend to ... un-ask me to bring homemade snacks to parties after I mention these but they're both really good, I SWEAR =)

By: rhizome

rhizome — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:39:36 -0800

I'm thinking a bit more like Chex Mix. I don't have a recipe here, I'm sure it's on every box of Chex, though.

By: eafarris

eafarris — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 05:06:02 -0800

The favorite crunchy snack at our house is Cayenne Pretzels:

20oz bag of pretzel sticks
1pkt Ranch dressing mix
1tsp cayenne pepper
1tsp garlic salt
1c vegetable oil

preheat oven to 225.

Mix oil, dressing mix, and spices. Divide pretzels over two sheet pans. Pour oil mix over pretzels evenly, stir to coat.

Bake for an hour or so total, stirring and rotating pans every 15-20 minutes. the pretzels will deepen in color and soak up all the oil. Allow them to cool before serving.

The pretzels get spicier the longer they sit, and they're quite addictive.

By: parkerjackson

parkerjackson — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 05:13:34 -0800

My mom always used to make "hot buttery o's" which sounds really weird, but it's like chex mix using cheerios. You just melt some butter in a pan (maybe 1T or so) and when it's liquid, mix in a cup or so of cheerios (add enough so the butter just coats most of them lightly). When the cheerios start to brown (try one and makes sure they've passed soggy and become crunchy), add salt and chow down. Not the most healthy snack, but good.

Do you want sweet or savory? I also know an easy recipe for frosted pecans (sugar+water+pecans), but I won't bother typing up the details unless you want sweets as well.

By: sugarfish

sugarfish — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 05:58:02 -0800

These are tasty -- ranch dressing mix+oyster crackers.

By: Stewriffic

Stewriffic — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:03:02 -0800

Spiced pecans are good. Even better are cheese straws. Combine the two for something like Cheddar Pecan Wafers. Making me hungry.

By: chickaboo

chickaboo — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:29:32 -0800

How about making your own pita chips?? several recipes on epicurious

I also like to deep fry wontons in lieu of croutons on my salad

How about devilled eggs made with celery?

By: agregoli

agregoli — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 08:39:59 -0800

Oooh, I made wonton crackers the other day - just put wontons on a baking sheet, brush with butter and add any spices you want - I chopped garlic on top but you could use whatever. They were crispy and delicious.

I love crunchy snacks too, I hope this gets more responses.

By: inconsequentialist

inconsequentialist — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 08:40:36 -0800

Here is a great recipe for parmesan crisps from Alton Brown. The fun thing about these is that once they are done baking, they are malleable for a while. You can take the slightly gooey parmesan, place it over the end of a salt shaker, and it will eventually harden into that shape, giving you a little crispy parmesan basket in which you could put tomatoes or anything else you like with parm.

By: rxrfrx

rxrfrx — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:33:46 -0800

Cheese straws are a less-expensive proposition than parmesan crisps- grate a bunch of cheese (a melty kind is fine) and mix it with butter and flour and pepper and other flavorings you might like. When baked the texture will be something like Cheez-Its.

By: jeffamaphone

jeffamaphone — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:39:54 -0800

My wife will take pita bread bought from the store, cut it into triangular pieces and separate the top from the bottom layer, take each individual piece, cover it with a bit of cheese (paramsean or whatever is laying around) and bake it until crispy.

By: laminarial

laminarial — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:56:52 -0800

I know there was already a mention of roasted chickpeas, but here is a recipe from vegweb.com:

Spicy Chickpea Snack

Ingredients:
1 can chick peas
2 - 4 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon each Cajun spice and chili powder
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven at 400oF
Drain and rinse chick peas.
Pour oil into baking pan, add spices, mix well.
Add chick peas and mix till well coated.
Place in oven for 15-20 minutes or until crunchy. Stir once half way. Enjoy cold or hot.

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 3 minutes

Also, I have not tried, but have been meaning to try this from recipezaar.com (also, it could probably be baked rather than deep fried):

Unbelievably Good Homemade Omapodi Or Sev Recipe

by Charishma Ramchandani
4 servings
50 min 30 min prep

2 cups gram flour
1 cup rice flour
salt
1 1/2 teaspoons red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon asafetida powder
2 teaspoons crushed thymol seeds (ajwain)
2 tablespoons canola or other high-temp oil
oil, to deep fry

In a large bowl, mix together the first six ingredients.
Add 2 T. oil.
Apply a little oil on your palms and mix the mixture well so that it spreads evenly.
Add the required amount of water (about 1/2 cup) to this mixture so that it is thick and lumpy.

Take a squeezing mould and fix the plate for sev or omapodi on it (The plate has a number of tiny holes). **alternatively, cut a small opening in the corner a plastic ziploc type bag, or use a pastry bag with small attachment and squeeze**

Heat oil in a wok till smoking point.
Reduce heat to medium. **at this point, if you add a pinch of dough, it should float to top and oil should bubble**

Add a handful of the mixture into the mould/bag.
Hold the mould/bag over the hot oil. **be careful**
Start squeezing in a circular mode till the mixture is used.

Set aside the mould/bag.

Turn the omapodi to the other side with a ladle.
When the omapodi turns golden in colour, remove from oil and allow it to drain on clean paper kitchen napkins.

Store in an airtight container for upto 2 weeks.

And a sweet recipe (works for passover too!):

BUTTER PECAN MATZA CRISPS  

2 unsalted matzos 
2/3 C. Margarine 
2/3 C. brown sugar 
2/3 C. chopped pecans 
1 t. vanilla 
1/2 C. chocolate chips

Lay matzos side by side in a FULLY foil-lined cookie sheet.

Melt margarine, add  sugar and pecans and stir until boiling. Boil until big bubbles form--1 to 2  minutes.

Remove from heat, add vanilla and pour over matzos, up to, but not  over edges.

Bake @ 375 3-6 minutes until matzos are crisp.

Scatter chocolate  over hot matzos. Let cool.   

** I make extra topping for the matzos. It is better with more.
** Can also make this topping for popcorn.

By: davar

davar — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:42:00 -0800

Homemade tortialla chips: Cut a corn tortilla in pieces, brush with oil and spices and bake in oven.
You can do the same thing with very thinly sliced root vegetables (beets, parsnips, sweet potatoes, etc.) Make sure to slice them really thin and bake them long enough.

By: vytae

vytae — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:45:10 -0800

If you like sweet and crunchy snacks, Puppy Chow (a.k.a. Chex Muddy Buddies) is the way to go. It's basically chex cereal coated in chocolate and peanut butter, then dusted with powdered sugar to keep it from being too sticky. I think it's even tastier when you keep it in the freezer, but that's just me.

By: vytae

vytae — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:48:41 -0800

I've also very much enjoyed summer squash chips. Cut zucchinis or yellow summer squash into very thin rounds (a mandoline would be handy, but I just use my chef's knife and go as thin as I can - about 1/8 of an inch), lay them on a baking sheet, spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle with sea salt and dried oregano. Bake them in a low oven (250 degrees or so) until they're crispy, turning and re-spraying with oil at least once. It took maybe 2 hours for mine to be crispy, but they probably could have been cut thinner.

By: sevenless

sevenless — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:09:13 -0800

Some details on making your own pita chips:

1. Most pitas I've cut up have a thin side and a thick side, either don't separate the sides (too thick for me) or put the thins and the thicks on separate cookie sheets and bake separately. Otherwise you risk a sheet full of half over-done and half under-done.

2. Bake at 400F (pre-heated) for 5-7 minutes. Watch them carefully. The baking is not linear and the thins will go way faster than the thicks.

3. Just spray them with cooking spray (I use Canola-based so the taste of the oil doesn't get in the way of the spices,) sprinkle liberally with your favorite spice blend and bake.

Take Baharat and salt flavored chips with plain humus to your next party. It goes over pretty well. Use a little more ground baharat than you think you should and add a little salt.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:13:28 -0800

Pecans, in a frypan with a bit of butter, brown sugar, salt.

By: davar

davar — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:05:13 -0800

Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Squares.

By: peep

peep — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:19:11 -0800

just seconding vytae's Muddy Buddies link. very yummy and addictive.

By: genmonster

genmonster — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:17:59 -0800

i can't believe no one has said this yet: POPCORN! it's cheap, low calorie and can have any number of fantastic flavors. and by popcorn, i mean the kind you buy in a jar as corn kernals and then either make;

1. in a pot on the stove (shake kernals around with some veggie oil on high heat until they pop- a good arm workout) or

2. with one of those air popper machines that you plug in. new these are pretty cheap but you can get them at thrift stores or tag sales for a song. they work wicked fast and there's no need to add any oil or butter if you don't want to.

TOPPINGS! the sky is the limit! some of my favorites:
olive oil + salt+cumin+ a little chili powder
melted butter+ a drizzle of honey + a little salt
butter+ Chinese five spice powder + sugar
olive oil and salt , garlic powder optional
hippie style nutritional yeast flakes+ olive oil
but i;m sure you'll find one you like better with some experimentation...