Some of my most interesting food ideas are the result of playing with my food. My original twice baked cocktail crackers and all of the variations are a great example.

The original cracker began as a cheddar/buttermilk biscuit recipe from the William Sonoma catalog.  The biscuits were ok, but the leftovers ended up being sliced in thin layers and baked again as a cracker. Much like you might bake biscotti.

After some experimentation, my original twice baked cocktail cracker became a three cheese sensation beloved by friends and family. This year I began mashing up the recipe with infused olive oils from my friends at Olive del Mondo. And recently I created a "nuclear cheese" option baked with green chili oil to pair well with beer.

I forgot to set a timer on the last batch into the oven and when I remembered them they were unrecognizably dark; ok burned. But as I played with a few to see if they were still edible, the very dark color reminded me of a pumpernickel bread I like to bake. Could I make a pumpernickel cracker?

While I'm a few bug fixes away from a release candidate, the beta version of the twice baked pumpernickel cocktail cracker shows promise. I think I'll keep on playing with my food.

   
Photos left to right: Original Recipe, Nuclear Cheese, Burned and Pumpernickel 
your humble blogger & Kitchen Drudge