For the series “hooray for Carnival without fried food! 🤭” here are my Carnival Mask-Shaped Crackers ohhh yeah!
I think it’s almost impossible to have a lighter Carnival than this, what do you say? 😃
These are very simple crackers made from crazy dough, a dough made from practically only three ingredients (flour, water, and a little oil), which I cut into the shape of masks using paper templates.
I still haven’t decided to get suitable cutters (incredible, such a simple tool, yet I don’t have it!). But there’s always a solution! I looked online and found these templates from Lavoretti Creativi, printed and cut them out after resizing them to fit the size of the crackers I wanted to make. If you don’t have a printer, you can draw similar masks freehand on paper; they are very simple drawings, which you can now copy from my crackers by looking at the photos of this recipe. If you prefer to buy cutters, I’ll put an example link in the tools section, check it out if you think it might be useful.
I’m very pleased with how these carnival crackers looked on my table. 😊
What can I say, once again the Light and Tasty Team hit the mark! 😃 I thought I wouldn’t have any light ideas to propose for this traditionally sweet and fried occasion, but these crackers were snapped up. I had to hide them to photograph them, because they were all being eaten as I was taking them out of the oven! trimmings included! 😃
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PS: you can also make these carnival crackers by following my other crazy dough or brisée recipes available here on the blog. They are very similar recipes (apart from one being made with butter instead of oil). All are tried and proven to turn out great and suitable for making crackers. Here are the recipes:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 20 Minutes
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 50 masks
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Creative
- Seasonality: Carnival
Ingredients
- 2 cups type 1 flour
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil (or corn oil)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp vinegar
- ground turmeric
- spicy paprika
- sesame seeds
- poppy seeds
Tools
- Cutters mask-shaped
- Oven electric Sfornatutto
Steps
Prepare the crazy dough by placing all the ingredients in a bowl and kneading quickly with your hands.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces.
Start with one piece and place the other 3 in the fridge in the meantime.
Roll out the piece of crazy dough and proceed with one version at a time:
TURMERIC VERSION:
The best way I’ve found to color the masks yellow evenly was:
– roll out the piece of dough with the rolling pin
– sprinkle the turmeric on the dough, spreading it with your fingertips
☝ Afterwards, be careful not to touch anything and wash your hands immediately.
– roll out the dough again until you get a thin sheet.
☝ It may be helpful to flour the cutting board first.
At this point, proceed with the mask operation:
Cut out a paper mask and use it as a template to cut the dough.
Use a pointed knife or a pastry wheel (a wheel might be better since my masks came out a bit jagged, but I assure you any imperfections won’t be noticeable after baking 😊).
Place the masks on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
👉 Carefully pick up the masks; the dough is soft.
Bake in the oven at 350-390 Fahrenheit for 5-6 minutes.
☝ Note that I baked them in a small oven by placing the tray on the lower shelf for 3 minutes and then moving it to the upper shelf for 2 (or 3) minutes. A single minute more makes the difference between normal and extra-crispy baking (in the latter case, the browning covers the yellow color a bit). Be careful not to burn them; being very thin, it is good to monitor the last minute of baking.
POPPY SEED VERSION:
I decorated only the top of the masks with both poppy and sesame seeds, but you can get creative with even more varied decorations, including adding other different seeds.
Gently press the seeds with your fingertips to adhere them to the dough.
SESAME SEED VERSION:
PAPRIKA VERSION:
For the paprika version, I tried two different ways: both sprinkling the paprika directly from the jar and moistening it with a little water and brushing it; the two types are visible in the next photo.
I hoped the color after baking would be redder than what I got, but I was still satisfied, especially since the fiery red spiciness was still noticeable! 😃
For all versions, the same baking methods and warnings I provided earlier (turmeric version) apply.
Hey, then, make sure not to miss baking the trimmings!
I assure you they are quite a treat, they are super crunchy, and you eat them like chips, one after the other.
What more could you want from a light recipe?
Hooray for Carnival! 😃
Salt-Free Tips
Naturally, these carnival crackers are without added salt, I assure you they don’t need any, they’re delicious!
If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
– Gradually reduce the salt, the palate must gradually get used to it and should not notice the progressive reduction.
– Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
– Use herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
– Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
– Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
– Use my salt-free vegetable granules
– Prefer fresh foods.
– Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (griddle, foil, steam, microwave)
– Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
– Occasionally allow yourself to break the rule. It’s good for the mood and helps you persevere.
If you don’t want or cannot give up salt:
You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
If you don’t want or cannot give up salt:
You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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Light and Tasty Recipes
Finally, but not least, the recipes from my colleagues. With which I greet you and look forward to seeing you at the next light recipe. 😊
Carla Emilia: Savory snack with olive paté
Daniela: Crackers with vegetable confetti
Elena: Colored tagliatelle
Milena: Wholemeal spaghetti with confetti
Serena: Spiral rolls with jam
WW Propoints Diet Points
I’ve calculated the points for each cracker/mask, which is useful for those following the WW diet from Eat without a belly, but also in general for those who want to serve a recipe suitable for Carnival that isn’t the usual sweets or fried foods 😊🤭 For each cracker, I’ve calculated 0.6 points (also considering the trimmings and assuming they correspond, when re-rolled, to 5 masks, thus a total of 55 masks instead of the 50 I made). Turmeric is 0 points, while the seeds for each mask do not exceed 0.2 points each. Enjoy!
