I hear kids really like Goldfish crackers. Because my little one is dairy-free and because I’m committed to eating as little processed food as possible, I went in search of a cracker recipe that Ada (and the rest of us) would love. I find that snacks like this are imperative when you try to get a home cooked meal on the table every night: something to stave off the post-daycare grumblies while you take the time you need to cook dinner. Can you relate?
Luckily, the first recipe I stumbled across turned out great…and taste exactly like Wheat Thins (one of my faves). Did you know that the flavour the makes Wheat Thins taste like Wheat Thins is vanilla? Yeah, me neither.
Here’s what you need:
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt (plus more for sprinkling)
1/4 tsp. paprika
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. vanilla
Here’s what you do:
Preheat your oven to 400F.
In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the butter and, rubbing it between your fingers, work it into the dry ingredients until it’s crumbly. Add the wet ingredients and stir until it forms a cohesive dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead until just combined (try not to overwork the dough!).
Separate the dough into four parts. Roll out the dough, one quarter at a time, onto a baking stone or a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper or lightly greased, using a rolling pin. (Disclaimer: I used my baking stone for these crackers. According to the original recipe, you’ll get a crispier cracker using a baking stone. I didn’t try the recipe on a cookie sheet so I don’t know). Roll it until it’s quite thin (a couple millimeters). Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut the crackers into squares. Sprinkle a bit of salt over the cookies.
Bake the crackers till just browned – 5-10 minutes in most ovens – but keep an eye on them because they crisp up quickly.
Repeat the above steps with the rest of the dough (and be careful rolling out dough on your hot pizza stone!).
Enjoy!
Recipe courtesy of http://traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.ca/2011/02/homemade-wheat-thins.html#.UUdQUxfU-xo
