Homemade Goldfish Crackers
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Have you ever tried making your own cookie cutter? I had just made my very first mini fishy cutters, and had used them to make these cute tiny goldfish crackers. Are you inspired to make them for your little ones too? It’s an easy recipe. If I can do it, so can you.
Let’s start with the DIY cookie cutters. All you need is an aluminum can (use more if you plan to have more fun), scissors, adhesive tape, ruler, marker or pen and cardboard paper. However, this DIY project is not recommended for kids as the aluminum sheet has sharp edges which can cause injury to the little hands if not handled carefully. I enjoy doing them very much. I feel like I’m back at school again! Lol!
Besides fish, there are many interesting shapes you can make such as star, flower, heart, crescent moon etc. Just be as crafty as you can. If you don’t have time to make them, it’s perfectly fine. Any ready-made cookie cutters will work well too. Pizza cutters or knife are also good tools to score your desired shapes as how I did in this post.
This recipe which I adapted from Tasty Kitchen requires the use of a food processor. Unfortunately, this electrical appliance is still in my wish list but ordering one unit solely for this recipe is taking a step too far. So, I decided to improvise and I did it with a pastry blender. Yay!
Cutting these little fishies out of the dough is time-consuming but this is where the fun is. It would be great if your kids could take part too. Try adding eyeballs and curvy lip on the face and you will be amazed how cheerful and happy these little fishies are going to look like.
These crackers, once baked, will puff up a bit. They are very chewy and CHEEEEEEEZY. But, if you roll the dough thinner, you will get crispier crackers. Unlike the usual crackers, these crackers will turn soft pretty fast even if you store them in an airtight container. Thus, it’s advisable to consume them immediately or within a day or two. Otherwise, keep them in the fridge and they can last for another week or so. When you’re craving for them, just pop them into a toaster oven and warm them up lightly.
I think it’s one of easiest recipe to make. With just a few simple steps and ingredients, it will bring you and your kids a whole load of fun. Don’t miss it!
Making the Cookie Cuter
Materials
Steps
- Cut off the top and bottom of the can with scissors and discard them. (note 1)
- Cut the remaining part down the side so that you have a rectangle sheet. Trim and straighten any uneven edges with scissors if needed.
- Use a rule and marker/pen draw a strip measuring ½ inch width and 4½ inches long. Draw as many strips as possible. Then, cut them out.
- Take one strip, hold both its ends overlapping them by ¾ inch. Tape them together.
- Use the pre-cut cardboard strips as guide to bend or fold the tail of the fish. It should be ¾ inch for the flag edge and ½ inch for the sides. (note 2)
Notes
- Be extra careful when cutting aluminum can as the edges are very sharp.
- Be gentle when handling these metal strips. They are very filmsy and can easily break if you bend or fold them too much.
Other references:
Making the Crackers
Adapted and modified from Tasty Kitchen
Ingredients
Steps
- Using a pastry blender, cut butter into the flour until it forms coarse crumbs.
- Add salt to mix together.
- Add shredded cheese and cut into the mixture.
- Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Use hand to form dough and divide into 2 portions. Wrap them in plastic and chill for 20 minutes (or longer).
- Preheat oven to 170°C. Line baking trays with parchment papers.
- Take out one portion of the dough from the fridge. Work with one portion at a time. Place dough in between two sheets of wax paper or cling wrap. Roll dough out to 3mm (1/8 in) thickness. Cut out shapes with your choice of cookies cutters (note 4) and transfer to baking tray.
- Use chopstick or toothpick to make the eye balls, and the prong of a fork (I used crab forks) to carve a curvy lip. (This step is optional)
- Gather all the trimmings and re-roll. Repeat until all the dough is used up.
- Bake for approximately 15-17 minutes, until the crackers are crispy and golden around edges. Timing will vary according to size and shape of your crackers. Cool for 10 minutes on baking tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- You can substitute it with 50-100% whole wheat flour.
- Shred the cheese finer than what is shown in the photo so that you can easily cut them into the mixture.
- Get orange cheese if you can.
- If you have food processor, pulse everything (except water) together until the dough resembles coarse sand. Then follow with step 4.
- Thinner dough means crispier crackers; thicker dough means puffier, more bread-like crackers. But, the dough must not be too thin or else the crackers will be difficult to handle.
- If you don’t have cookie cutter, you can use a pizza cutter or knife to score the desired shapes. Refer to this post.
- Crackers will turn soft pretty fast even they are kept inside an airtight container. Best to be eaten immediately or within a day or two. To extend them for a week or so, I keep them in the fridge. Lightly warm them up in the toaster oven when I want to eat them.