snacks

Kitchen Sink Crackers

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The great thing about crackers, is that you can mix up the ingredients so easily, from substituting flour combos, to seeds added, to what you include with herbs and spices. These lovely kitchen sink crackers are great to have on hand for snacking, or as a bread substitute for an open faced sandwich; cut to your desired shape and size.  (yield: 20 2.5×3 diameter crackers)

Ingredients: 

1 cup chickpea flour

1 cup King Arthur Gluten Free Ancient Grains Flour Blend (amaranth, millet, sorghum, and quinoa)

2 tsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. turmeric

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup filtered water +

1/2 cup mix of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, black sesame seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix together chickpea flour, King Arthur flour blend, nutritional yeast, Himalayan salt, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, turmeric.  In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil & water.  Combine wet to dry, making sure to coat all of the dry blend. I like to hand mix this. Wetting  your hands beforehand help to prevent sticking. Fold in pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and black sesame seeds. Adjust with more water if needed to prevent crumbling. Lay a sheet of parchment onto a countertop. Dump the dough onto the parchment, cover with another layer of parchment. Flatten by hand initially with dough between two layers. With a rolling pin, roll over the parchment crackers to maintain even thickness. With a bench scraper, you can cut and trim and shape the edging to get an even thickness and measurement.  Once you have rolled out an even dough, then take a knife or bench scraper and cut to desired dimensions.  Remove top parchment, keep the crackers on the bottom parchment and slide onto a sheet tray.  Bake for 10 minutes, rotate, and bake for 10 more. Or until edges have slightly browned.  Allow to cool completely before serving.

 

*shown photographed with cashew cheese, cherry tomatoes, english cucumber, kalamata olive, and oregano.

 

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Crispy Crackers

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Why make your own crackers, you might ask? Any mother could understand why.  This recipe takes a total of 25 minutes of my time. That being said, by the time I strap my three young daughters into their carseats, and make my way to the grocery store, and meander down the aisles with their harmonic wants and persistent grabbing at products, and then return to strapping them back into the car and back, and make my way home…. you get the point. I could be done without ever leaving home.  Plus, they are fresh and I know exactly what goes into them. The temporary displacement of scrambling for a quick grocery jaunt, is completely eliminated.  This is a recipe my mom passed along to me, and one I wish to share with you. These are delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup olive oil or butter

1/2 cup water, plus more as needed

1/4 cup sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix the flour and salt. Then add the oil or butter and water. Lightly blend the ingredients, adding more water as needed.

2. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until it has reached a thickness of no more then 1/8 inch.   If the dough is thicker then 1/8 inch, the crackers won’t be as crisp as they should be, so this is important.

3. Transfer the dough to an ungreased baking sheet, and lightly mark the dough into 2-inch squares using a knife. Don’t cut all the way through the dough.  Next, use a fork to poke tiny holes in the top of each cracker.

4. Sprinkle the crackers with salt and sesame seeds, and bake until crisp for 15-20 minutes. If you crackers are more then 1/8 think, extend the cooking time. Makes 36 crackers.

* I have tried the seeds two different ways, one the way the recipe suggests (topping before baking), the other is mixing them into the dough before adding the wet to dry. I prefer the second way to the first because the seeds and nuts stay in the cracker, as opposed to falling off.  Also, I added flax, chia, and sunflower.  Be creative. This recipe is just the beginning of what you can alter to make your own way.

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My at home co-op brings fresh vegetables every other day.

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Here, I topped the crackers with home made hummus, fresh picked mache, garden picked arugula, home grown lemon cucumbers, and heirloom tomatoes.