Over the Summer I fell head over heels in love with the Rosemary & Raisin Crisps from Trader Joe’s. My grandmother had them in her pantry, and since then, I’ve bought many, many boxes. But at $3.99 a box (containing just 5 servings), this love affair was doing damage to my budget. It was time to make my own.
Now I’m sure many of you are thinking “Make your own crackers? What? Impossible.” In fact, while I was making these my little brother said, “You can make crackers at home? I thought you need a machine or something.”
I did a little research, stalked a few blogs, scanned the ingredient list on the box of crisps, and got to work on making my own crackers. After a few batches, I had a recipe that I was very happy with. Perhaps too happy, as the crackers seem to disappear much faster than I can burn them off.
Rosemary, Walnut and Raisin Crackers
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup skim milk + 1 tbsp. lemon juice)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup raisins, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed
- 1 tbsp. fresh rosemary
- Preheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add buttermilk and sugar and stir just until combined.
- Add raisins, walnuts, flax seed, and rosemary and stir until evenly mixed.
- Pour the batter into a loaf pan that has been coated with nonstick spray. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from pan to finish cooling.
- To slice the bread, it has to be completely cooled. Sticking it in the freezer for an hour helps speed up this process. Next, slice the loaf as thin as you can and place in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Reduce heat to 300* and bake for 15 minutes. Flip crackers over and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Makes about 4 dozen crackers.
Don’t be weirded out by the flavor combo. I, along with Sierra, will attest that it is incredible and pretty mind blowing with a chunk of goat cheese. Yes, we went there. You’ll love these so much, you’ll want to eat the whole batch in a day. It’s probably a good idea to package some up for your neighbor, best friend, professor…anyone with a mouth, really. Aside from tasting so similar to the Trader Joe’s crisps, your wallet and your schedule will thank you. They’re much cheaper to make at home, and mixing the batter takes about 5 minutes.
Do it. Do it. Do it.
And then report back. I know you’re going to tell me that you loved them and you had no idea how easy it was to make crackers at home.
Which baked goods are you too intimidated to make at home? One day I’ll make macarons. One day.
What’s your favorite thing to bake? Cookies!
