Rosemary and Honey crackers
I like crackers, as a kid, I have countless memories of hogging on them for endless hours. They are crunchy by themselves and are great culinary vehicles for all kinds of yummy things. I rarely do buy crackers though, cookies are always the more preferred baked treats on the shelves. Crackers are something we purchased when guests were coming over during my growing up years. I also remember, how they were also a great excuse to buy various types of cheese, spreads, and dips from the hypermarkets we went so often as kids.
Now the situation is altogether very different. The lockdown has left us with fewer things in our kitchen cabinets but the good thing is that it has given us so much time to think and reflect truly. We truly know what’s brewing in the kitchen every day. While we are left with fewer ingredients to create a particular recipe, we are truly experimenting and creating new ones we never thought by incorporating all that is rightfully in front of us. My love for herbs is not a shocker, everybody knows how much I love experimenting with them and infusing my desserts and other baked recipes with their aromas and their succulent taste.
The other day I got a packet of rosemary along with a whole lot of other groceries of course. Since I did bake some cookies this quarantine, I was longing to dish out some good tarts, pies, soufflés, or perhaps some wondrous cakes drenched in the goodness of rosemary. But alas, I realized I was falling short of one or the other thing and the egg tray was lying empty, which meant I would really have to think hard of what goes in as a binding and leavening agent for all those recipes traveling in my head.
Since cookies were out of the question, enough of that I have been making, so I thought – why not crackers? That’s something that I have never made and its waiting to come across on the blog for all my readers.
Combining Raisins with Rosemary:
Now, the most common ingredients that instantly come to our mind when we are thinking of crackers are – flax seeds, sesame, sunflower seeds, etc. I wanted my rosemary crackers to be devoid of all this and binding the rosemary with a new yet unique ingredient. Since I like sweet and raisins are something I love to add to bring out that sweet flavor, I decided to make these crackers out of these two ingredients. Believe me, rosemary blends with raisins perfectly. It also helps to bring a distinct touch to the crackers, making them move away from the usual savory flavor to an eccentric and quirky sweet flavor, even though in a very minimal amount.
Replacing egg and opting for a healthier recipe
Since eggs were out of the picture and I am always experimenting to go for egg-free recipes, the easiest that comes to binding together like an egg is a butter. I also wanted to go away from white flour and decided to opt for almond flour, wheat flour, and some coarsely grounded oats. Take your time to understand that combining these flours is not easy. These are hard flours and not as swift as white flour while working around. But the end result is of course, healthy and delish crackers. I used almond flour because I wanted to add a little nuttiness to the crackers and of course, almond flour is very healthy. Wheat flour generally comprises most of the body of the crackers as it substitutes white flour in this recipe. I used oats just to add a coarse texture to the crackers and make for an interesting addition besides being high on the health parameter as well, of course.
Working with the dough:
While kneading the dough, you need to understand that you need to devote a little more time here as the dough will require effort in order to prevent it from breaking. Why breaking? Because we have not used white flour here and when we have a dough that’s made of wheat flour, almond flour, and coarse oats, its texture is going to a lot different from any conventional dough. So make sure you press it hard, rollover a number of times, dig in your knuckles and just be patient while it is coming together. You will know you have got the desired texture when you roll it out with the rolling pin. If it breaks, means you need to knead a little more. Don’t add too much water, ideally, only about 4 to 6 tbsp should do the trick, but take your call while you are on the process as every brand of flour also makes the difference here. You can also take small pieces of dough, roll each of them out and cut out the crackers and repeat the process to make it easier to work with the dough. There is no need to refrigerate the dough here.
I love my Rosemary and raisin crackers to the core when there’s Nutella on the side. I also love to have them with peanut butter. You can enjoy them with anything you wish to, like any dip you have at home. If there’s nothing, well just go a little wild, grab that honey jar and pour over a generous amount!! Got a sweet tooth like me? then I am sure you won’t regret it!!
Happy baking and munching!
RECIPE:
Crunchy, earthy, and slightly sweet from raisins, these Rosemary Crackers are great on their own or as a base for your holiday appetizers. Free from white flour and sugar, these are great buddies when you are in the mood for some healthy munching and don’t mind biting into those soft raisins often!
Ingredients:
1 cup Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup Coarse Oats
2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped (or more for a stronger flavor)
1/2 tsp Salt
3 tbsp Raisins
3-4 tbsp Butter (cold or room temperature, anything will do)
5 to 6 tbsp Warm water
Method:
- Grind 1/2 cup of almonds to make the almond flour. Grind the oats coarsely.
- Mince the rosemary and chop the raisins as well.
- In a bowl, add the wheat flour, oats, and almond flour. Add salt, butter, and chopped raisins as well.
- Combine everything together. You should be able to grab the flour in your fist. At this stage, add water slowly and keep kneading till you achieve the desired consistency.
- Dust your work surface with a little flour. Divide the dough into small balls and roll them out with the help of a rolling pin.
- Cut the crackers with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter. Preheat the oven at 180 C for 10 minutes and bake the crackers for about 15 minutes until they are golden brown.
- Cool completely and store in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week. Great with blue cheese, Nutella and walnuts!