I love crackers! in my soup , under some spread, with a little cheese or by themselves, crackers can offer an alternative to bread and usually less calories. Homemade crackers are easy and fast to make and can be as healthy and nutritious as you want to make them. Here are some great ideas for homemade crackers.
The flax seed crackers are a recipe from a dear friend of mine and the fish crackers are from the website I shared. I think I will keep both of these recipes in my recipe file under "snacks." The flax seed crackers are perfect for my health conscious family and friends. The fish crackers are just what I need for when the little guys come to grandma's house! Cha-ching!!
Almond Flax Seed Crackers
Ingredients:
2 cups flaxseeds (golden or brown)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped almonds
Directions:
Soak the flax seed overnight. Mix remaining ingredients with seeds and honey. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and dehydrate in oven at 170 degrees for 4 hours. Cut into squares; return to oven and continue dehydrating until crisp.
Since we are always interested in ways we can use our whole grain flours so I thought about making some great crackers and so I started searching the web. I found a site that has all kinds of cracker recipes. This site, http://dinnersdishesanddesserts.com/homemade-goldfish-crackers/, has several cracker recipes. I was impressed and thought it would put a big smile on some children's faces and save some money by making some homemade "Goldfish"-type crackers. They are easy to make and the taste is addictive! I made a pattern for the fish cracker out of a throw away aluminum pie tin. It was fun but the cutter didn't hold up well. After I made several little fishy crackers, I got out my very small square cookie cutters and went to work finishing up the dough. Children not only love the taste of these crackers but have so much fun helping you make them too.
Goldfish Crackers
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour (I like the soft wheat for this)
4 tablespoons butter, (cold, cut into small pieces)
8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cold water
Directions:
Using a food processor, pulse together the flour, butter, cheese and salt until it resembles coarse sand. Pulse in water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Place dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Roll the dough out 1/8 inch thick and cut into desired shapes. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
 Whole Wheat Crackers (from Eat More Whole Grains Cookbook)- Usually all crackers will have some baking soda in them which is what helps them to rise a little while baking. In this recipe following we put the baking soda in some warm water first so soften it and get its bubbling action going.
2 Tbsp. warm water
1 tsp. baking soda
1 3/4 cups warm water
2/3 cup oil
1 Tbsp. salt
4 cups of whole wheat flour ( we freshly mill ours with the Nutrimill)
4 cups all purpose flour. ( you could substitute barley flour or oat flour or corn flour or even rye and triticale flour for any of the flours in this recipe)
Directions : Put the baking soda into the 2 Tbsp. of warm water and set aside. Put the remaining water into the Bosch bowl equipped with the dough hook. Add oil, salt, and whole wheat flour and finally the soda water. Mix on speed one until smooth. Sprinkle with the yeast and mix again. Add remaining flour and let knead for 5 min on speed one. Divide the dough into 4 parts. Oil the counter and place some foil or parchment paper on the counter so it sticks down onto it. Oil the surface of the foil and roll out each part of the dough until 1/8" thick (we use our pizza rollers to do this right on the cookie sheets) By pulling on the foil, transfer the the rolled out dough to a flat cookie sheet. Cuts into squares ( a pizza cutter works great) and prick with a fork. Sprinkle lightly with salt or garlic or cheese powder (or even a herb or spice if you wish) and bake at 350 degrees until lightly brown about 10 min. Cool and store in a can with a tight lid.
For variety you could add 1 cup of crushed flax (in the blender) or corn meal, or sesame seeds. For a real twang you can mix a little barbecue sauce into the dough. Cheese powder or bacon bits can be sprinkled on top or my favorite personally is to mixed some grated sharp cheddar right into the dough. Triticale grain milled into the flour makes a wonderful flavoured cracker so try that if you have some to use up.
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Whole Wheat Crackers (from
